Kidnapped
by Lil Vamp Girl
Summary: Bella Swan is kidnapped a day before her wedding. In order to save a love one, she becomes the companion of the king of the Underground. When hell becomes heaven, Bella learns that life was never as simple as it seemed.
1. Future

_**Warning: All the characters introduced in this story may have the same name as the Twilight Series but be warned that the creatures introduced are completely different. The characters introduced have a number of differences from SM's version. They are invented by me. So if you dislike reading stories that have somewhat changed the characters, I would highly advise you to not read this story.**_

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"Bella, Bella, Bella! This dress is like made for you! I can't wait for tomorrow. It's going to be like awesome!" Bella's wedding planner, Felicia, squealed.

The wedding was tomorrow and Bella was doing some last minute changes to her dress. She was about to marry her childhood friend, best friend and high school sweetheart, Jacob Black. They grew up in the small little town of Forks and had been together since they were just mere toddlers but only started dating during the senior year of high school. Who could blame them for being inseparable? Their Dad's too grew up together.

To Bella, no one mattered to her more than Jacob. He was her everything. He was the one who was with her through all the good and bad times. It was like true love in a way.

Bella smiled as she looked at her gorgeous self in the mirror. The dress was just stunning. It looked exactly like the dress Giselle from the movie Enchanted wore during her wedding day before she was forcibly pushed down the well and into New York City. Bella had fallen in love with the movie when it premiered in theatres. In fact, she watched it for a total five times before she said she had enough. After that, when the DVD came out, the whole cycle began again. You could say she literally watched it a million times. And throughout these times, Jacob happily followed her. He liked seeing Bella happy.

"I know it's beautiful. Let's just hope I can actually wear it and walk down the aisle this time…" Bella sighed.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be okay! If at first you don't succeed, try try again," Felicia comforted. However, from her tone, it was more of a cheer than a comfort. Felicia was literally beaming with excitement you would think she was the one getting married.

Not to say that Bella isn't excited about her wedding. She's excited all right. But she's had this feeling before, thrice. Jacob had proposed long ago but they had to cancel off the wedding thrice due to some reasons.

The first was because of graduation. The two love birds had planned everything but they were still in college. So, Bella's parents intervened and said they should get married after they had graduated and have found a stable job. Jacob had to slog out three jobs for that wedding. It was really tiring for him. Bella on the other hand saved like crazy, skipping meals once in awhile and working overtime at her job till the wee hours of the night. In turn, their health and studies suffered. With pressure which soon too came from Jacob's parents, they cancelled their winter wedding fantasy.

The second one was cancelled due to some unforeseen reason, on the day of the wedding, the weather suddenly got really bad and the wedding had to be cancelled. The two had finally saved enough money and were planning to have a wedding at this place that they had their first kiss. Everything was going perfectly but soon, a thunderstorm hit. The rain would not stop coming down and they had to cancel their wedding yet again. Why didn't they postpone it? Well, the place was fully booked till three years later. It was a miracle that they had actually secured that place.

The third time was a real tragedy. Two days before their big day, Jacob's mother met with an accident. She went out to do some grocery shopping when the accident happened. It was a hit and run. With all the remorse around, the two couldn't do anything but cancel their wedding yet again.

So now, they are trying for the fourth time to tie the knot. Bella's feeling a little worried about it. She keeps telling Felicia that she has this funny feeling but being the optimist, Felicia says its nothing and that Bella is just thinking too much. Thinking she's just having pre-wedding jitters, Bella shrugged off those feelings. Just a little more and she would be married to the man she loved.

"I know," Bella smiled, "It's just well, tiring. This is what, my fourth dress?"

Felicia didn't say anything but just smiled and continued to do some altering to Bella's dress. This dress that Bella was wearing now was the most expensive as compared to her other three wedding dresses. After each wedding was cancelled, the couple decided to change the dress as a symbol of getting rid of all the bad luck. Bella loved all her dresses all right! All three other dresses are still kept inside the tiny little apartment Bella and Jacob lived in.

"Knock, knock. Looking gorgeous as always," a deep sounding voice came from the entrance of the cozy little boutique.

Bella's face immediately lit up and turned to see the smiling face of her soon to be husband. Jacob had come around to bring Bella for lunch. Though it was traditional that the groom should not see the bride's dress until the wedding, Bella just wanted Jacob around. They went to look for the gown together. They were inseparable.

Unable to move from her position as Felicia was still doing some minor alterations, Jacob walked over the short distance separating the two and took Bella into an awkward hug.

Bella giggled, "I'm almost done. Then, I'm all yours for the entire afternoon."

Jacob smiled and kissed his lovely bride to be.

"Oh man… Leave it for later please… Working here," Felicia groaned and Bella quickly pulled away from him and her cheeks became a delicate pink which Jacob had come to love so much. Both Jacob and Felicia chuckled.

Felicia quickly finished the alterations before helping Bella out of her dress. Having to wear the tight fitting dress for a close five hours, Bella was now more than happy to trade that for a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

After she changed, she quickly gave Felicia a quick kiss on the cheek before taking Jacob's hand and leaving the wedding boutique and into the streets of New York.

The two of them moved to New York after they had graduated from College. The town that they came from, Forks, was just too small for them to reach their full potential. Though they practically grew up in that little town, they wanted to see more. Well, Bella actually. She had a somewhat adventurous streak. She wanted change. She wanted to learn about new things. That was something Forks didn't offer her. So, she and Jacob packed their bags and moved to New York. It was difficult at first from finding a home to a job but they soon settled. Though they haven't really found proper jobs, they're happier than ever.

"So, where should we eat?" Jacob asked trying to look more enthusiastic than needed.

Bella chuckled, "How's about that little Chinese restaurant at the corner near where we live? I don't know why but I've got this sudden craving for Chinese food."

Jacob smiled and pulled Bella towards the little restaurant near their apartment. It was the first place the couple went for a meal when they first moved to New York. They loved how cozy the small little place felt and were instantly bonded to it when they tasted their food. They've been patronizing that place ever since. Plus, Bella loves Chinese food. She just couldn't stop loving it ever since her first meal when she was a mere six years old. Her mother brought her to this little Chinese restaurant in Port Angeles on her birthday and the minute she tasted some of the delicacies, well, let's just say it was love at first bite.

Jacob was feeling a little adventurous today so he decided to go a different route towards the restaurant. He had found a shortcut the other day when Bella was busy planning the wedding. It was a little alleyway and though it was a little dark and spooky, it was the middle of the day and it saved lots of time instead of walking the usual route.

Bella was never one with a good sense of direction so she just followed Jacob thinking that they were walking down their usual route.

As they continued down the alleyway, Bella suddenly saw a gypsy fortune teller sitting at the side of the little sidewalk. She was staring at the happy couple and when Bella looked at her, her eyes moved up into a smile. You can't really see how she looked like as she was all covered up. However, there was something about this woman that pulled Bella towards her. She was so mysterious.

"Hello there my child," she smiled and Bella took a step back, "Would you like me to read your future?" The fortune teller asked.

Bella moved a step forward – pulled by the mysterious gypsy lady – but Jacob soon noticed and pulled her hand. "Bells, this is probably a sham. She just wants our money. Let's go," he whispered into Bella's ear.

"A non-believer I see. Don't worry my dear. Just for you, I'll do it for free. Now why don't you come and sit?"

Jacob still wasn't convinced. He continued pulling Bella's arm. Bella however seemed to be in a trance. She was captivated by the gypsy. It was so tempting to her. She wanted to know about her future. She had three failed weddings so far; she wanted to know if this fourth one would succeed. Every time a wedding failed, it felt like a thousand swords had been pierced into her heart – she was quite badly affected. Even if it might be false, she wanted that little glimmer of hope. That bugging feeling she's been having since two days ago hasn't left for a minute.

"C'mon Bells," Jacob continued persuading Bella to move.

"Come my child. Don't you have something you want to know about your future? Maybe if a wedding will be a success or something? I can see it in your eyes my child. Come. Just one little reading," the gypsy lady smiled. Bella froze. She didn't understand how the gypsy knew about her wanting to know about her wedding. She didn't say anything. Had she looked so eager about it?

Bella bit her lip and brought her feet forward. Jacob pulled her back but she placed her hand on Jacob's and looked into his eyes. He was concerned about her. She had never shown any interest in any of this crap before.

"Jacob, just give me a minute. This could be fun. There's well… There's something I wanna know. Please."

Jacob sighed and let go of her arm. Bella slowly walked over to the gypsy and she smiled. "Come my dear. I won't hurt you."

Bella took a seat on the stool opposite the lady. "Just one reading please."

"Very well, give me your hand my dear."

"Aren't you going to use your crystal ball or something?" Bella asked, confused. Clearly from all the shows she's watched the fortune tellers always waved at their crystal balls and something would appear in front of these fortune tellers and they would tell their 'clients' their future.

"Those shows are all a lie my dear. Crystal balls are just props for the fakes. It gives them that extra mysterious element that allows them to lure in unsuspecting victims so they can cheat them of their money. I don't do that. I read palms."

With that reassurance, Bella gave the gypsy lady her palm and she took it. The gypsy lady took her palm in both her hands and examined it closely. Slowly, her face started to wrinkle, her eyes looking worried.

Bella panicked, "Is it bad?"

"I see that you're going to be going through a very happy period soon my dear. You've been trying for a number of times but it has failed so you're trying it again hoping for success. However, I see dark clouds approaching my dear. Something you think would never happen to you would."

Bella froze. It can't be. She wouldn't believe it. The gypsy looked into her eyes but soon patted her hand, comforting her.

"Don't worry so much my dear. I can see you're someone who seeks change. Your life now doesn't amuse you one bit. You want something different; you want to learn new things. But most importantly, you want to make a difference in someone else's life. You would be brought to another world you never expected exist. Your presence there would change someone or something tremendously. However, I also see great danger in front of you my dear. An acquaintance from your past would appear before you and try to bring you harm. But at the end of the road, when all is well, a choice would have to be made."

"And what choice would that be?"

"That is something I don't know my dear. You would know when the time comes. This is all I have to say. Thank you dear and I wish you well."

"Thank you," Bella smiled and took some money from her purse and offered it to the gypsy but she declined.

"I promised it would be free. Go now. Your fiancée is waiting. Be safe."

Bella smiled and quickly ran back to where Jacob was standing. He was leaning against a wall, watching the whole thing. However, the two spoke in such hush tones he could not hear a thing they've exchanged.

Bella felt a little dizzy as she ran over to Jacob. The fortune teller had not made her feel reassured about her wedding tomorrow one bit. It had made her even more anxious. The gypsy's words would not leave her mind. The second part didn't bother her much; it was the first part that bothered her the most. She went for reassurance but in turn, received more worry.

It would be a failure? That was all Bella could think about. Another of her dream wedding being damned to fail. Bella quickly shook her head and scolded herself for being too superstitious. It's probably all a lie. No one can read your future…

"Bells! You okay? What did she say to you?" Jacob asked in a panicked tone.

Bella didn't notice that she had stopped breathing from all the shock she received. She quickly shrugged it off and tried to even out her breathing. "It's nothing. It was all just a bunch of crap." She tried to laugh it off but the laugh that came out was pretty weak.

"Told ya not to go…" Jacob mumbled.

"Don't worry about it. Okay, so why not we go have some lunch. I'm starving… And I so totally crave for a plate of Chow mein."

Jacob chuckled and took Bella's hand and continued walking down the alleyway.

Out of the blue, a dark figure appeared in front of the couple. You couldn't make out his features as he was dressed in full black and the alley was a little dim. Before either one of them could react, they were hit on the head and blacked out.

"So we meet again, Isabella Swan…" These were the last words Bella heard before she fell completely into the darkness. However, she didn't know if she heard them or it was just her imagination…

~*~*~

Meanwhile, as the whole scene played out in front of the watery screen, two dark figures watched patiently as the couple were being dragged away.

"It's time. Shall I go fetch them?" the girl asked as she sat on the male's lap and her hands wrapped around his neck.

"Very well. I think it's about time we had some guest around here." The male stroked the female's cheek and with that, the female disappeared…

**So, how did you find this chapter? Sucky, lame, boring, good? I don't know. Do tell me what you think! (: **

**Anyways, this story introduces some things that are completely different from the SM version. So you are warned. The changes would be more than in Two Faces. In Two Faces, the change I made was that vampires could imprint. In this story, their abilities might vary a little. I will try to make it as similar as possible but do note that there will be some changes! So if you don't like it – like some readers I've encountered when writing Two Faces – STOP! Don't read this anymore. There's also a little magic in this story but its quite minimal.**

**On a lighter note, I don't plan on making this a really long story. It'll most likely be much much much shorter than Promise but maybe a little longer than Two Faces. But one thing I'll try to do is to make each chapter longer. This is also the first story I'm writing in the third person so do tell me which one is better! If third person is better, I'll probably stick to this style of writing in the future. Though in this story, I might jump to the first person once in awhile.**

**I think that's all I want to address for this chapter. Next chapter should be interesting to write. I'm definitely looking forward to it so do stay tuned!**

**Reviews are more than welcomed if you could spare me a minute or two~ Thanks!!! :D **


	2. Injuries

**Shout out to all you wonderful people who are reading this now! Love ya~ Muacks!!! And thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! ;)**

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"She'll be waking up soon. The male put up a pretty interesting fight to defend her. He's no match for us anyway," the female informed the male as she went up the steps and sat on his lap as she curled her legs around his.

"See that his wounds are taken care of. We can't afford for him to die. That would make our efforts futile. We need them both alive." The male's long fingers traced the female's jaw and held onto her chin.

"I know… I just sometimes wonder why you're doing all this… Why bother yourself with the humans? He won't succeed in his plans. You know that." The female got down and walked to a portrait. Nothing much could be seen. The room was just so dark. She took her hand up and stroked something on the portrait. The male got up from his seat and wrapped his arms around the female's shoulders.

"You know I don't care about those humans. I'm doing this to protect you. You're all I have left. I'll take every precaution I have to take. I won't lose you."

"You know that girl's special. Things are going to change. I won't be the one you care for the most soon. Not when she enters your life." The girl unwrapped the male's arms around her and turned to face him.

"That will never happen. You'll always be the most important person in my life," he cupped her face and she looked up into his eyes. "I won't allow a human to change this. After what they've done to us. They're all the same," the male furrowed his eyebrows as he remembered what happened centuries ago and closed his eyes, "Yes, it won't ever happen. Your extra sense is not always right. I won't allow it to happen."

The female put her hand on his face and sighed, "You have to stop this. You need to stop tormenting yourself like that," the female wanted to continue but blanked out for a second, "The girl's waking up soon."

"Bring them to me. Then I'll see what we'll do with them. And bring a few with you, they're sure to put up a struggle even though one's injured."

"Very well then. I'll be back in awhile" And with those words, the female darted down the steps to claim the two prisoners. Behind her followed tiny little round shaped creatures.

~*~*~

"Bella, Bella honey, wake up. Please wake up," Jacob called out as he continuously shook Bella on her shoulder.

The couple was locked up in a dark cell. It looked more like a dungeon actually with all the stone walls and no windows in sight. Escaping right now was impossible. Dim lights hung from outside of the little cell. The cell was completely empty. There was no bed, no proper toilet – there was just a little pail at the corner.

Bella was starting to wake up and a flow of relief coursed through Jacob. He was worried that she got badly hit on the head when they were attacked. He doesn't remember much. All he remembers is that one minute Bella was as pale as a sheet after seeing that creepy gypsy fortune teller and the next minute she's fine and they're going to get Chinese food and the next minute, this dark shadow appears and hits them both on the head and they black out. Everything happened so quickly he couldn't even catch his breath.

"Jacob?" Bella was still in a daze. All she knows now is that there's this throbbing in her head and it won't go away. She rubs the back of her head and feels a tiny lump. She got hit pretty hard.

As her vision starts to change from blurry to clear, she sees her fiancée's face and smiles but soon, her face drops. Through the dim lights, she could see that a streak of dried blood flowed down the left side of his face. His body was covered in purplish black bruises and cuts and his lips were a little swollen. Jacob was hurt, really badly.

She quickly took her hands and cupped it around Jacob's face, "Jacob, what happened? You're hurt. Who did this to you?" Panic and hurt colored her voice. She was in pain just by looking at Jacob now. It hurt her to see him in pain just like it hurt him to see her in pain.

"I woke up earlier just now and saw that we were being carried by these little men or creatures or something. When I saw you next to me and unconscious, all I could think about was saving you and protecting you. So I got into a little fight but man! Those little creatures sure pack a punch. I didn't even leave a scratch on them. And that little lady with them, she was tough. Plus, they outnumbered me, terribly. But throughout the entire thing, all I wanted was to keep you safe Bells…" Bella put a finger on his lips and he flinched a little.

She placed a light peck on his lips, "Hope that makes you feel better," she said as she stroked his cheek. Bella couldn't hold back anymore. She started crying. Jacob got hurt in the process of trying to protect her. He got injured trying to keep her safe. Bella started to place little kisses on all of his bruises and wounds.

Jacob took her hand and placed it on his face. "I would do anything to keep you safe Bells. You know that." Bella nodded and Jacob wiped the tears off her face.

Just then, a door opened and Jacob wrapped his arms around Bella and pushed her to his back, creating a protective stance around her. Bella held onto his arm, shivering from the fear of what is awaiting them.

They were kidnapped. And the worst part was that they didn't know where they were. Were they still in New York? They didn't know. They just knew that imminent danger awaited them. The gypsy lady was right. She was spot on right. But Bella couldn't think of that right now. She couldn't remember what the gypsy had said. All she knew now was to keep Jacob safe from harm's way.

The whole cell lit up and Bella gasped. In front of them stood a petite lady and surrounding her stood donut shaped people. It's true. They were so tiny, without any features, no eyes, no ears, no mouth, nothing. They were just a circle with another circle in the middle. They were really shaped like donuts with the exception of the sugar coating and they had arms and legs. Each came in either a different color or pattern. No two were alike.

However the thing that caught Bella's attention wasn't the tiny donut men, it was the lady standing before them. She was really short and too looked short even though they were sitting on the ground. However, she had beautiful features. Perfectly shaped eyebrows, big sparkling eyes, a sharp nose and a beautiful set of lips. Short spiky dark hair framed her beautiful face. She had the looks any girl would die for. She was beautiful to the point that Bella felt inferior just by staring at her.

She gave them a small smile, "I see that you're awake. Come now. The king would like to meet you."

One of the donut people – the green one with purple spots – came and unlocked the door. The other donut people came in and pushed them out of the tiny cell. The whole time, Jacob would not stop holding onto Bella, making sure she was not hurt.

"Hey! Lady or whatever you are!" Jacob shouted and the petite lady turned around, "Tell me, where are we? Why did you take us here?"

"The name's Alice by the way. You're in the Underground. Now come along, you mustn't make the king wait." Her voice was so cold. The entire time, her expression never changed. She looked very business like, always keeping a straight face.

"Let us go! Or at least, let Bella go. I'll stay. But please, let her go."

"Jake. What are you saying? I'm not leaving you." Bella whispered into his ear. She wouldn't leave without Jacob. No matter what happens, she won't leave him alone.

"I'm afraid I can't let you go. The girl especially. She needs to stay here."

Without warning, Jacob went forward and tried to land a punch on the lady. However, she was so fast. She dodged in what seemed like a millisecond and Jacob fell to the ground. In the next instant, she gripped Jacob's neck and yanked him up. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's up to you. But no matter what, the both of you are not leaving here alive," she warned. In that instant, her business like disposition was lost and she looked like a real monster.

In the next second, she tossed Jacob to the far end of the wall and he landed with a loud crash. Bella screamed at the scene she just witnessed and ran towards her love. She quickly spread her arms around his body and shielded him from the deathly scary woman. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she saw blood flowing from Jacob. "Stop! Please stop! We'll go. We'll listen to you. Just please, please don't hurt him anymore. Please!" Bella begged with her voice hoarse.

Alice stopped and went back to her business like disposition. "Very well. Take him," she ordered and Jacob was being lifted up by the donut people. Bella followed behind. She was soon brought into a long hallway. The place wasn't very brightly lit but there was enough light to see the little details of the hallway. The place didn't resemble the buildings in New York one bit. It was completely different. It looked medieval in a way with the stone walls and portraits that hung on them.

They soon reached a large door. Alice simply gave it a light push and the door opened to reveal a huge room. The place was beautiful. It looked like just what you would find in a castle where the king and queen resided in.

Alice ran up a short set of stairs and went to hug the figure standing on the top and in front of a throne. There were two thrones on top but Alice didn't take a seat next to the guy she just embraced. Instead, she went to the back and disappeared. Wasn't the second chair for the queen? The way those two embraced, they pretty much looked like lovers. Maybe Alice went to get something.

Bella took a glance up at the man that Alice just hugged and gasped. He was more beautiful than her. He had bronze colored hair and his features were just as perfect as the girl's. He looked like a Greek god. He was beautiful.

The Adonis like male didn't say anything but just continued staring at them. The donut people placed Jacob on the ground and too disappeared. Bella quickly ran over to Jacob and held him tight. "Jake, Jake. You okay?"

Jacob's eyes fluttered a little and he groaned, "Bella… You okay? She didn't hurt you did she?"

"Stop worrying about me. You're hurt. You need help." Fresh tears started flowing down her face. Jacob lifted his hand up and stroked her cheek before wiping the tears away.

"I'm as strong as a mule. A little blood loss can't do anything to me," Jacob smiled. He tried with all his strength to stand and soon succeeded. Bella kept an arm around him to make sure he wouldn't fall.

"I'll keep you safe," Jacob whispered into Bella's ear.

They both turned to look at the handsome man standing in front of them. He looked like he was dead on the inside, as if he hasn't felt any emotion in a long time. His gaze was so cold Bella shivered a little when she looked into his eyes.

Jacob managed to pull himself together and put on a straight face. "Who are you? Why did you bring us here?" he shouted towards the mysterious man at the throne.

The handsome man continued looking lifeless as he spoke, "I am Edward, King of the Underground."

**And the creepy guy is our dear Edward…**

**Here's the end of this chapter. Sorry it's so short. ): I wanted to make it longer but I need to sleep soon – it's way past my bedtime, my dad's going to kill me – and it's not so easy. The idea's still pretty raw. Sorry for the late update. School just started and I have projects and tests and so many things flooding in.**

**I don't know when the next chapter will be up but I promise one next week~ Meanwhile, why don't you read **_**Sorry, Did you say Isabel Swan?**___**by **_**Lily CullenBlack**_**. It's really good. (: It's on my favorite's list.**

**Reviews are highly valued here so do spare me a minute or two if you can~ ^^ Thanks! MUACKS!!!**


	3. Sentence

This is a rewrite of the original chapter, _Sentence. _I've decided to change the story a little so this chapter too had to be changed. Don't worry, most of this chapter is the same… Enjoy~ ^^

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Bella and Jacob had known each other ever since they were little babies. Their fathers were best friends you see. So, Charlie and Billy would always leave the two kids together to play while they went on their fishing trips. A bond was gradually formed between the two and they soon became inseparable. They did everything together. From going to school to even spending their birthdays, they had to be together. It was just incomplete if either one of them was missing.

There was once for Jacob's fifth birthday, Bella caught the mean little flu bug. She had a really high fever and even though she said she was okay, Renee refused to allow her to go to Jacob's birthday party. Jacob of course got really worried when Bella hadn't arrived at his party after two hours. They had made a promise towards each other that they would spend each of their birthdays together no matter what. He was pretty hurt so he went and made a call to the Swans residence. Renee explained to Jacob why Bella couldn't make it and he understood.

After he said his thanks and put down the phone, Jacob immediately ran out of the house and hopped onto his bike. His sudden departure left his parents and sisters stunned but before they could stop him, he was already on his bicycle, cycling down to Bella's house. Renee got quite a shocker when she saw Jacob at the door, sweaty and panting to add to it. He greeted Renee and ran up to Bella's room. Bella had been crying. She hated herself for getting sick and missing Jacob's party.

When Jacob showed up at her room door – panting and all sweaty, she felt both joy and guilt. Joy to see her best friend but guilty for missing his party. She got in quite a tiff with her mom earlier on when she learnt that she wasn't allowed to go. Even with a sore throat, she begged, screamed and cried. She did everything except for throwing things around. With that much energy, Renee thought Bella had recovered but when she took Bella's temperature; well let's just say Bella wasn't allowed one foot out the house.

Poor little Jacob thought what had happened when Bella didn't answer him when he said hi to her. He thought he didn't come earlier to see her and that Bella was angry at him for that. They soon explained their situations and laughed it off. Jacob spent all his time with Bella until Billy came to pick him up. The next day, Jacob too caught the flu bug and the two friends spent their time together in bed.

From that day on, they made a promise to always be at each other's side no matter what and they wouldn't abandon each other no matter what the consequences. Such a simple yet strong promise. They never thought they would have any difficulty keeping to this promise. Until now at least…

There, the two of them stood, Jacob's arms wrapped around Bella, Bella worried to the bone that Jacob was more hurt than what meets the eye. The handsome young man that stood right in front of them continued looking lifeless as he looked at the young couple. He was the immediate danger now. If he had half the strength Alice had, he could easily kill them both. But yet, when he said who he was, Jacob had a glimmer of hope. He's the king. He's the one who makes the decisions around here. If he wanted to get Bella out of here, Edward was the best way. No one would dare defy their king.

Bella was trembling. She didn't notice this before but she was soaking wet. From head to toe, she was soaking wet whereas Jacob was quite dry. Her coat was so soaked with water it didn't block out the cold wind that came with winter. She had no idea how she didn't notice before; maybe she was so afraid she became completely oblivious of the cold. But now, she felt it full force, the full force of the wind that came in when the door closed behind her. The wind hit her like a thousand needles, she was shivering like crazy. Jacob too noticed and held her tighter but it didn't help much.

Edward noticed Bella's teeth clattering and ordered, "Bring her a blanket." Those four words were all it took. A minute later, Alice appeared and handed her a blanket big enough to wrap around the both of them before running back to where she came from. Jacob quickly took it and wrapped it around Bella and held her close. Her shivering soon stopped.

"Thank you," Bella gave the king a small smile.

The handsome young king simply nodded and looked up at the couple.

"Why did you bring us here?" Jacob asked.

Nothing. He didn't say anything. All he did was stare and nothing else. "Damn it! Hey! You understand what I'm asking? Why did you bring us here?" Jacob bellowed.

"Is that a way to speak to the king? I believe you know who I am but I don't."

Jacob all but growled, "I'm Jacob Black and this is my fiancée, Isabella Swan."

"Very well. Why I brought you here is not something you should concern yourself with. What you should be worried about is what's going to happen to you now. You got in a little tiff with Alice just now didn't you? But not to worry, your wounds would be treated later. We wouldn't allow you to die here."

"I won't die. Even without your treatment, I won't die. At least not until I get Bella out of here. Let her go! And I'll do what you want me to. You can keep me here forever but please, let Bella go!" Jacob begged.

Bella stiffened. She would never think of leaving without Jacob. "What are you saying? I won't leave you. Never! Don't even think about it. We promised each other we would be together no matter what," Bella whispered.

"I'm afraid that decision is not for you to make Jacob. The two of you are not leaving this place. Especially the girl. She needs to stay here."

Those were the exact words that Alice said. Bella was needed to stay here more than Jacob. But why? She couldn't understand why such a beautiful creature could take interest in her. It just didn't make any sense.

"I don't understand. Why do you need me so badly?" Bella asked.

Edward didn't answer. Bella looked into his eyes and they were so cold. His eyes resembled a million winters all joined together.

"Why won't you answer me?"

Edward appeared in front of Bella in an instant and stroked her cheeks. "I can see now see why Br-…" his face twisted for a second before taking Bella's chin and relaxed his facial muscles and stared, "You have a very pretty face." Bella flinched under his hot touch. His temperature was hotter than any normal human's. It felt like he was having a fever.

"Don't touch her!" Jacob bellowed.

He knocked away Edward's hand from Bella's chin and punched Edward. However, Edward didn't move an inch. Instead, it was Jacob who went stumbling back. He tried to land another punch but Edward dodged so fast he looked like he didn't move at all. It looked like Jacob missed on purpose.

Edward dodged each and every move gracefully. It looked like he was dancing instead of fighting. It looked so effortless. Jacob didn't even manage to land a hit. "How dare you touch her! Quit dodging and fight like a man."

Edward didn't dodge after that. He started landing punches and kicks on Jacob. In a second, Jacob was being hit left right centre. He couldn't even see any of the attacks. It just continued hitting him. It wasn't fair to compare Edward's strength with Alice's. He was a hundred times stronger. The whole time, all Bella could do was watch the whole scene play in front of her eyes. She was so afraid her whole body went numb. She couldn't feel her legs, her arms or any part of her body in front of her anymore. Because right in front of her, the man she loved was being attacked by some inhuman being.

Including the injuries Jacob received earlier, his body couldn't take anymore. He collapsed on the floor, vomiting out a pool of blood. Bella screamed, "Stop! Just stop!" and she launched herself towards Jacob and threw her arms between him and Edward. "Please. Stop hurting him!" she cried, the tears flowing down her cheeks. The blanket had dropped on the floor and she was freezing again. However at that time, all Bella could think of was to protect Jacob, to keep him safe.

Edward abruptly stopped and saw the determination in her eyes. Bella's body was shaking like crazy but she would not relax her stance. She was so determined to protect the one she called her fiancé, the man she loved and wanted to spend her life with. Edward's eyes widened. Brown hair and warm chocolate colored eyes. She looked so much like someone from his past. Someone who he misses terribly. His battle like persona immediately vanished and he felt his knees _almost_ collapse. Almost instantly, his face changed back to that cold cold creature.

Seeing that Edward has stopped his attack, she quickly ran towards Jacob and wrapped her arms around his body. He had lost a lot of blood from all those blows. "Jacob, Jacob. Please, speak to me. Jacob, don't go. You can't leave me…" tears continued coursing down her cheeks.

_Don't leave me… Don't go. Come back, please come back! NO! _Edward snapped back to his reality. He saw Bella weeping with Jacob in her arms. At that moment, he wanted to be Jacob. He wanted to be loved, he wanted that feeling of being loved, of being protected back. And at that moment, he wanted her. He wanted her so so badly.

As she laid there weeping, she quickly took her blanket which was lying near by and wrapped it around Jacob. However, she was still wet and a cold breeze came by leaving Bella shivering again. With her tear stricken face, she turned up to look at the monster that did this to him and begged, "Please, save him."

"He attacked me. He deserves to die," he replied in the coldest tone possible. Bella shuddered at the way he disregarded Jacob's life.

"Please, I'll do anything! Just save Jacob, please I'm be-begging you!" she begged.

"No amount of begging can save a pathetic creature like him." He turned his head to a side and refused to look at Jacob. It almost looked like he was resisting something.

"You said you needed both of us alive." Thinking she was triumphant, that she had found the reason that Jacob should be saved. However, when she saw the creature turned to her, he didn't give her a look that showed defeat, it looked _smug_.

He gave out a cold laugh. "His life doesn't matter. All I need is for _you_ to be alive."

Bella gasped at how cold this creature was. Knowing that the monster would never ever save her fiancé, she had only one alternative left. She didn't want it but it was worth a shot. Jacob was going to die at the rate he's bleeding. The blanket that was wrapped around him was already soaked to the bone – blood red.

Bella was desperate. Without thinking, she uttered the next words. "Take me. Take me. Do anything you want to do with me. In return, all I ask is that you save his life. Please."

This completely took the creature by surprise. He never expected her to just give herself like this. It was like handing him a silver plate. It was something Edward could not resist. He did want her as a companion so badly even though he didn't know why.

Seeing the hesitation in the king's eyes, she knew this was her only chance to save Jacob's life. "I'll become your prisoner. I'll be anything you want me to be. Just save him."

Edward quickly composed his face. "Very well. I shall heal this boy's wounds and in return, you would become my companion. He would be kept in the tower to heal and if you should escape, I would not hesitate to end his life."

Bella thought about it for awhile but she knew she had no choice but to accept. "Very well then.""

The creature clapped and Alice appeared before him. "You called?" she asked with an angelic smile on her face.

"Heal his wounds and keep him in the tower."

"As you wish." She went and gave him a kiss on the cheek before coming towards Bella and Jacob.

She carried Jacob away leaving Bella sitting on the stony wall. Only when the doors closed in her face did Bella realize what she had gotten herself into. She was now a prisoner, forever. Escape was a no no for her but now, she craved freedom more than anything.

A shriek of pain came from the outside and she knew at once it was Jacob. She turned and looked at her master – the one who she must now serve.

"I never said it would be painless," he whispered in that cold cold voice.

Another scream and the whole world blacked out in front of her eyes.

* * *

And I am back! *jumps for joy* Sorry it took me awhile to get this rewritten. It took awhile for the story to get back in my head and I've been pretty distracted by school work…

Anyways, Memories is on halt. Sorry =/ anyways, I've been busy writing some of the future chapters and I'm thinking of sending one chapter to a lucky reviewer. It'll be just like for Promise.

Rules are the same but here they are (:  
1. You need to give a signed review as I will be sending the **100****th** reviewer the chapter through their fanfic account. If the 100th review is by an anonymous person, then the next signed review will get the chapter.  
2. No spam please, I'll only count it as one review. Spam is not nice.

Doesn't matter if I don't get the reviews, I'll still update when I have the time but it'll be quite slow as I have lots of things to do. The holidays may be coming but I have to start on some of my papers.

I have 2 new chapters so far but they'll be up eventually and they're just a gist of what is going to happen in the future.

Hope I'll be able to post chapter 4 soon. The story's getting clearer and clearer! Oh and before I forget, the donut people are officially gone from this chapter on.

Till next time~


	4. Motive

Chapter 4 is here~ Enjoy!

* * *

_Why?_ That was the only question that kept on running through Edward's head. He couldn't understand his actions one bit. That girl. To be able to create such a huge reaction in Edward – to make him want to collapse on his knees – was something that was nearly impossible, especially after that horrific incident with humans during his childhood. He had sworn to hating humans for life but now, he's taken such a strong liking for this measly little human girl that he even took her for a companion.

Taking a human as a companion was absurd in his world – totally ridiculous. Back when the kingdom was flourishing with riches, becoming a companion to the king was one of the highest honors, next to being the queen. If a king takes a strong liking to a vampire, he would usually take that vampire to be a companion. A companion's job is as simple as one two three. All they need to do is accompany the king, keep him company through activities like eating together and taking occasional strolls around the royal garden. Hence, everyone wants to be the king's companion. Sometimes, a king's companion might become the queen if they are able to bond and move their relationship to the next level.

Yet, here Edward is, taking a human for a companion. There was only one incident in history where a human was taken for a companion but that happened a long time ago and it brought about many misgivings to Edward's world. Again, vampires don't take humans as companions. But then again, Edward was never really a vampire.

"Told ya that girl's special. Or else you wouldn't have given her your blood that day." Alice came in as Edward was soaked in his daily bath.

As usual, the place held walls that were a gloomy grey with candles at the sides and a huge swimming pool like tub in the middle with flower petals scattered everywhere in the bubbly water. Edward was seated at a corner with three quarters of his chest submerged in the water and his arms hung on the sides. Alice threw a towel over his head before sitting down on the edge of the tub behind his head.

He took the towel, threw it aside and leaned into her lap. She gave him a light pat on the head. "She was dying on that day. I acted without thinking and now this happens. She has my blood in her system and now, _he _wants her so badly."

Alice gave a kind smile. "You never acted without thinking. Humans die all the time. You've seen death before but this human girl. You didn't want her to die. I saw it in your eyes that day. I saw the longing in them."

"You must have seen wrongly. Humans mean nothing to me. They're the lowest of the low. Look at what they did to us. They're the cause of all our pain and suffering."

Alice flinched at that thought but soon realized something. "That girl, she reminds you of _her_. Doesn't she? That's why you saved her."

"Silence!" Edward shouted and the whole room shook at the ferocity of his voice.

Alice cringed a little but soon straightened herself. She had touched a sensitive topic but now, she knew why Edward acted like that two years ago. He was longing for something and he saw it in that Bella girl. Yet…

Edward closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before whispering, "I'm sorry for shouting. But we're not going to allow a little human affects us like this Alice. I won't let her change anything. She isn't going to change anything – our relationship, the way we live. She is only a measly little human."

Alice was getting a little annoyed. "You have a sense of what people think. And I have a sense of what the future will be. I've seen what would happen if you drank her blood and you know what it will be – you picked it up from my mind. Just a simple drink of her blood and things will kick in, things will start changing. She's the one Edward. She can help you. She can erase all the pain you've been tormenting yourself with all these years!"

"The pain is the only reminder of what used to be. _She's _gone Alice. She's never coming back no matter how much I wish she would. The humans took her – them – all away."

"You know that's not true. You're only lying to yourself Edward. The pain's not the only reminder. We had so many fond memories with _them_. Why can you only remember the bad things but not the good? You need to move on. It's all in the past now. No one blames you for anything that's happened. Why do you have you consume yourself with all this guilt? All this pain? Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"It's because no one blames me. There's no one left to blame me!" Edward was about to lose his cool again. He took a deep breath. "No matter what you say, I don't want to have anything to do with that girl."

"Isn't it a little too late to say that? Because if I remember correctly, you made her your companion." Alice sounded a little smug at the last end where she made Edward lost for words for a split second.

Edward composed himself to retort back. "The king chooses what he wants his companion to do. I can keep her locked up in that room forever if I wish."

Alice bit her lip but soon gave out a low chuckle. "But you want to spend time with her. I know you well enough Edward. This is the first time I've seen you want something so badly. You can't resist this."

Edward pinched his nose. He knew that Alice was right. He wanted to be with that Bella girl. "No more… Please. I don't want to have anything to do with that girl. Besides, she's engaged. She's going to leave someday."

"She has sworn to being your prisoner forever. It's your call Edward. Whether to let her go or to make her stay. It's your choice. I can't see the outcome unless you decide."

"I know…" he turned around and stroked her cheek. Alice knew Edward a little too well.

He looked up at her and stroked her cheek. They looked at each other longingly before he spoke. "Can I ask you to do something for me?"

"You want me to wait on her?" she asked.

"Yes please. That would be nice. Could you do it?"

Alice was more than happy to help. "Sure. She and I are going to be great friends." She blanked out for a second. "She won't be up till an hour before dinner."

Edward went back to his previous position. "Very well. Get her something to eat and change her clothes for her. She's dripping wet. We don't want her getting sick now do we? I doubt she would want to join me for dinner, so bring her something to eat as well would you?" Edward said.

Alice simply wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his neck. "See, you care about her." Edward rolled his eyes. Alice bounced up from her position and said happily, "I'll get right on it."

As she left for the door, Alice's face suddenly turned a little cold. She whispered knowing full well Edward is able to hear her, "Oh and by the way, now that you have her here, I'll stop at nothing to get you to drink her blood Edward. I won't allow you to continue tormenting yourself like this."

With those words, Alice left and Edward froze. When Alice was committed to doing something, she would find all kinds of ways to make it happen. And she didn't seem like she was joking when she said she would make Edward drink Bella's blood.

x~x~x

As Bella slept in her room, she was dreaming. She dreamt about her first kiss with Jacob, the time they spent together and the time Jacob proposed to her.

It had been a simple proposal, nothing too fancy – Bella wasn't a very materialistic type of girl. She preferred the old fashioned way of things. Jacob had taken her on a romantic candle lit dinner and when the time came, he awkwardly pushed a ring towards her before kneeling down in front of her.

All the other people in the restaurant were looking – many looking shocked as they were still pretty young and many just looking happy for the happy couple. But Bella didn't care about any of that; she forgot all her fears of unwanted attention and unwanted stares. All she could concentrate on was the man she loved – her best friend, her love.

She could still remember the words he said to her with perfect clarity. "Isabella Marie Swan, I promise to love you and be with you through thick and thin no matter the consequences. I promise I would make you the happiest girl in the whole world. Will you marry me?"

She felt the lump on her throat but before she could cry, she whispered out the word, "Yes." Jacob smiled the smile she came to love so much and slid the ring on her third finger. After that, Jacob lifted her from her chair and kissed her. The whole restaurant erupted with claps and cheers.

Bella smiled in her sleep but soon, the scene dissolved into something else. The bright and happy ambience from the restaurant was gone and she was now in a dark place. It was pitch black and she couldn't see anything that was in front. However, a bright light soon came from the top, like an angel had descended from heaven.

However, it was not an angel who descended, it was a woman. She was beautiful beyond words with hair just a shade lighter than Bella's but she had the same warm chocolate brown eyes Bella had. She smiled at Bella and that look oddly reminded her of her mother. The woman came closer but Bella didn't feel the need to shy away from her. She felt safe and completely protected by this woman in a weird sense.

"Hello Bella," she greeted and the love that filled the voice could not be hidden – it exploded and Bella felt all warm inside.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Bella asked puzzled that a complete stranger knew her name.

The lady gave another small smile. "My name doesn't matter. What matters is what's going to happen next. What's going to happen in your future Bella."

"What do you mean?"

"Try to recall. Where you are at now. Don't worry, take your time."

Bella pondered for a moment before remembering. It seemed so much like a dream with the beautiful king but yet it felt so real. No way could it be a dream and her whole body went numb at that instant. "I'm being held captive. I've become a _companion _of that king."

"Yes my dear."

Bella started crying. She was no longer a free person but a prisoner. "That king, he's a monster. How could he do this to me, to Jacob…" Bella sobbed.

The pretty lady's face turned gentle and gave Bella a hug. "Edward's not a monster my dear. He's just under a lot of pain."

_Pain?_ Bella didn't understand. How could such a cold monster feel pain or any emotion? The pretty lady let Bella weep until she was done before bending down to look into her eyes. "Can I ask you for a favor Bella?"

Dazed, Bella nodded. Another gentle smile spread across the pretty lady's face. "Please save him Bella. He's been tormenting himself for so long. You're the only one who can help him. Will you promise to help me with this? Please."

Bella didn't understand. Save him? What was this beautiful lady talking about. Edward didn't seem to need any saving – he was so strong, what could possibly harm him? But more importantly, why did this lady want to help this _monster _so much?

"Wh-who are you? Why do you want to help him so much?" Bella asked.

She smiled yet again and stroked Bella's hair. "It is because, I am his …"

Before she could finish, the entire scene dissolved and Bella's eyes slowly opened. She was lying on something soft, a bed? It was softer and much more comfortable than the one she and Jacob shared at their home. However, when she looked up, it wasn't the pastel colored walls she saw. All she saw was grey. Grey colored bricks everywhere. There was nothing happy about the place no matter how nice the bed felt as she lied on it. She felt lost.

Her whole body instinctually sprang up and she saw she was not in her room. On her body was not the T-shirt and jeans she had been wearing when she left the wedding parlor. She was wearing a blue dress which wasn't quite tight fitting but still showed her figure well. It looked like a dress one would wear to a cocktail party. She touched the material and it felt like silk, the real kind and not the cheap fake stuff.

"I see you're awake," a high pitched sound from her back sounded. Instinctually, she turned her body and felt the dress tear a little. She didn't care.

Sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the huge room was Alice. She didn't have that business like composure she wore awhile ago. Instead, she wore a very friendly smile on her face but this only made Bella wearier of her surroundings.

"Hello Bella," Alice smiled.

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Simple. Edward carried you here. This will be your room from now on."

Bella pondered this for a second before asking, "How long have I been out?" Her guard was up.

Alice's mouth twisted a little like she was thinking. "Hmmm, about three hours or so."

Bella gasped. So long? She was sleeping for so long? She reexamined herself again and asked another question, "You changed my clothes for me. Where are they?"

"You were soaking wet. And I couldn't let you wear those rags. But if you must have them back, I've put them in the wash. I'll give them back to you when they're dry."

Bella moved back a little, clearly still afraid of the woman in front of her. She was no human being.

Alice gave out a high pitched laugh before appearing in front of Bella. Bella jerked back from Alice's proximity. Alice just smiled. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you. You don't need to be afraid of me."

Bella flinched again and mumbled, "Personal space."

"Oh. Sorry," Alice giggled and moved a step behind.

Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was hoping this was all a hallucination or a dream and when she opened her eyes, she would see her own room with her Jacob next to her. However, when she opened her eyes again, it was still the same old grey room.

The room didn't look like the prison she stayed at temporarily a moment ago. It still had the same old grey stone structure like the long hallway she walked through just now. Flowers and portraits hung on the walls and there was a small pink dressing table at the side. There was only a single window which Bella would be able to crawl through easily though she would have to tip toe to see what was on the other side. Her bed was a huge king sized bed with pink covers and three fluffy pillows. The room didn't look like a prison, it looked more like a room those princesses who were locked up in towers lived in.

Bella looked at the room in awe. It was definitely bigger than the room she had in New York but it didn't give off that warm feel she felt when she was in her home with Jacob. This room, she felt nothing warm from it, she felt cold, isolated and most of all, a prisoner.

"I know it's a little hard to take in but you'll get used to it soon enough." Alice smiled.

Bella was strong but her strength had come to a mute. She started crying as her mind regained clarity and she knew she was a prisoner – forever. She was never going to see the outside world again. She wasn't going to get married, she'll never see her friends and family again and worst of all, she'll never see her Jacob again.

Alice came and sat with her on the bed and put an arm around Bella. "He's a monster," Bella mumbled.

Alice waited for Bella to stop crying before saying, "Edward's not a monster."

Bella's eyes blinked a few times. She's heard this before. But she can't remember. Where had she heard it? She just couldn't bring it up, she couldn't remember. "How can he not be a monster? He locked me up and he hurt Jacob bad. Wait, Jacob. How's Jacob? Is he alright?"

"Jacob's healing as we speak." She pointed out the window. When far, you could see through the window. Alice pointed to a tower on the opposite side of where ever Bella was kept in. "He's being kept in the highest floor of that tower and his wounds weren't so bad. It only looked that way but we've given him the best treatment we could offer."

Bella smiled a little. Knowing that Jacob was healing made her feel better. "But that still doesn't change the fact that the king of this place is a total monster."

"My brother's not a monster Bella. You just haven't gotten to know him yet."

"Wh- wait. Brother? You're that monster's sister?"

"Edward," Alice corrected. "And yes, I am his sister. Younger sister to be exact."

Bella was awe struck. The way the two acted around each other, it wasn't the way brothers and sisters interacted. "B-but how? You act more like you're married to each other."

Alice laughed. "I know. But Edward and I have a very close and intimate relationship. Don't get us wrong, I don't sleep with him or anything mind you. We love each other very much. We're all what each of us has left."

Bella took some time to take all this in. Jacob was healing, that was the most important. Knowing that he would get better and he would survive, Bella felt better – her sacrifice was worth it.

Just then, Bella's tummy grumbled and she immediately put her hand on her stomach and flinched. She forgot. She hasn't eaten since this morning. She was going for Chinese food when they got captured and hence hadn't had lunch.

Alice smiled and showed her pearly white teeth. She went to a corner and took out a tray of food. She set it in front of Bella on the bed. "Here. You've been sleeping for a long time. Eat."

On the tray was a bowl of Chinese porridge. The smell emitting from the porridge was mouth watering and Bella was so hungry she felt the saliva forming in her mouth. She had to swallow hard to get rid of the excess saliva but as soon as she swallowed, more saliva came into her mouth.

Yet, she didn't want to eat. It was more like she was afraid to eat. They could have drugged the food for all she knew. Even if they didn't, she didn't want to eat their food. She still resented the two no matter how friendly Alice had been. She was still that monstrous lady who flung Jacob across the hallway.

"Don't worry. It's safe. You need to eat to keep your _strength _up."

Keep her _strength_ up? Why did she need to do that? She was going to be locked up anyway. There wouldn't be much to do. But then, Bella looked at Alice and Alice couldn't stop looking at the window. Bella turned and too looked at the window as she was curious.

And then it hit her, _escape_. Jacob was on the other side and it wasn't difficult to get to the tower. There were no guards either and Alice wouldn't be with her all the time. She was bound to leave at some point and that would be the best time to escape.

All Bella had to do was find something to help her get to the window and then, she saw the dressing table's chair. Sure it would be able to get her high up enough. The plan was already forming in her head.

Yes, she would take a few days to observe and allow Jacob to heal. Then, when she found the right time, she would take the chair and crawl out of the window. It wasn't a very far jump from the bottom. She would be fine. And then, she would go to the tower and save Jacob. Then, they could escape together. It was so easy.

_You need to keep your strength up._ Yes. Bella knew she had to keep her strength up. So, she went and started eating the porridge and boy was she hungry. The porridge tasted as good as it smelt. She didn't even care if the hot porridge scalded her tongue. She ate the whole bowl in one go though it was large enough to feed two.

Alice just looked as Bella ate. When she was done, she took the bowl out and placed it aside. Next, she showed Bella where her clothes were. There were a ton of clothes for her and Alice also explained some things to Bella. What being a companion meant and what she had to do. Bella was definitely opposed to this. A companion sounded more like a pet to her. She was disgusted by the ways things were done here.

After Alice got Bella dressed for the night in a frilly pink night dress, she took the empty tray out and wished Bella a good night.

Though Bella had slept for a long time just now, she was still exhausted. She had to take in so much in such a short time. However, the most dominant thought in her mind was the thought of escape. Escape was so close yet so far. As she laid in her bed, she made a plan of her escape, with every detail considered. And before she knew it, she was drifting into deep sleep…

* * *

And we are done for this chapter. I don't know when chapter 5 will be up though. But I hope soon. I can't wait to write but I need the magical cloud of creativity and motivation to be shining on me.

Anyway, there are bound to be tons of questions for this chapter so do ask in the reviews if you want to. Though I might not answer some as they will be answered in the future chapters. None the less, do ask as you'll never know till you try.

Anyways, do review if you could spare me a minute or two~ Thanks!


	5. Escape

My pen name has officially changed from TwilightianLoves to Lil Vamp Girl.

Anyways, enjoy chapter 5~ :D

* * *

_It's been a whole week and she still refuses to leave her room. She must really hate being here, away from her home, away from her family and away from her fiancée. I wish I could let those two be together but I sensed what that boy was thinking and I just can't let them be together. They need to be separated or it would lead to trouble if they escape. It would endanger Alice and me to just leave the castle to find them. The shadows are out there and they want blood more than anything and they would drain whoever they can get their hands on. They're not like us who just take a little bit. They would drink every single drop of blood when they get the chance._

_Though Bella might not be as appealing to them with my blood in her, her blood still smells so sweet. Even with the vampire edge to it, she still smells so sweet – I'm tempted to get a taste. But I mustn't because I am afraid. I haven't drunk from a human in a long time and though I won't kill them, I might accidentally release venom into their system. And if that is so, you know what will happen next. But Alice seems to have so much faith that I wouldn't do it, that I have better control over myself than I thought._

_Alice. She knows how I am able to sense her thoughts and she has been extremely careful. She said she would make sure that I get to drink Bella's blood and I am sure she is planning something. But whatever it is, I will make sure she fails. Bella would never allow me to drink from her willingly and that is the only way I would ever drink from her. But still, I am still worried. I don't want to have her blood inside me. I don't want to have anything to do with a human but that's a little too late now. I'll just have to do my best to avoid her._

_But most importantly, I can't let him have her. I know he knows what I did two years ago and now, he wants her. Though he knows the chances of him succeeding are extremely low, it is the only alternative he has. I refused to give it to him as it would endanger everyone. It would only bring more harm than good if he gets it._

_How do I make her understand that what I am doing is to protect my family, to protect her? I've said I want nothing to do with her but she reminds me so much of her. I miss her so much and each day, I think about what it could be if I didn't alert those humans. Maybe, she would still be with me. Maybe, Emmett and Rose would also still be here if I was more careful. I should have just let that Bella girl die but I couldn't. I was weak._

_Maybe… There are so many ifs in this world. If this was done differently, would things change? Maybe yes, maybe no. I don't know…_

"Okay, that's enough with your inner monologue." Alice came over and took Edward's journal and closed it.

Edward sighed and looked up at Alice. "What do you want Alice?"

"Don't you what do you want Alice me. Go and talk to Bella! If she refuses to take the initiative, then you have to do it. You do want to know her better now don't you?"

He sighed and just ignored his little sister. He loved her, but sometimes, he just doesn't understand her.

x~x~x

As the days continued to flow by, Bella refused to leave the room she called her prison let alone talk to anyone besides Alice. Alice would bring Bella food during meal times and bring her plate out after she was done. That was all. Bella refused to talk or do anything but sit in her room.

However, this was actually not the case. Whenever she was alone, she would be thinking, thinking about escape. Occasionally, she would ask Alice some questions about Jacob's whereabouts. Has he healed, where exactly at the tower he was located at.

Alice didn't seem to find anything odd – either that or she _wanted_ Bella to know – so she answered all of Bella's questions. All of Jacob's serious wounds have healed and he's starting to eating solid food again. Plus, he is located at the very top of the tower which was opposite the castle Bella was located at.

At that instant, Bella knew it was time. She would only have one chance to escape with her Jacob and the time is now. She has to do it before anyone suspects something is wrong. So, she went up to the bedside table and got out a piece of paper and a pencil. She wrote out everything including all the tiny little details. Nothing was left out. There were no guards around so that made escape even easier. She found a way to climb onto the window and out of the room. She also knew she was on the second floor of the castle so that wouldn't pose as much of a problem. Even if she slipped, the fall wouldn't be injured her too severely to prevent her from continuing.

She would escape tonight, when everyone's sleeping. And before they could realize she was missing, she would have long gone escaped from the wretched place. Though she didn't know exactly how to get out of this place called the _Underground_, she decided she would know when she had freed Jacob. It shouldn't be that hard to find and this was a question she could not ask Alice. It would give everything away. Since she sworn to be a prisoner forever, why would she need to know how to get out.

As Bella sat on her bed, writing down the final pieces of her escape plan, she remembered her dream of becoming a writer. She loved writing ever since she was a little kid and would always be writing ideas on little slips of paper whenever it came to her head during class. And during recess, she would run to Jacob and tell him all about it and Jacob would just listen and laugh whenever something silly came up.

As Bella sat on the bed, she prayed. She prayed that she would be able to escape though she had a strong gut feeling that she would fail. Yet, she hoped that she would be successful and that she and Jacob can get back to their lives. She wondered how worried everyone must be – what with the two of them just suddenly vanishing into thin air. The thought of this created fresh tears. She'd been crying these few days no matter how strong she was. In this horrid place, she felt weak, powerless. She just curled up in a ball and cried.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door and she looked up the clock. It was dinner time. Bella wiped off her tears and whispered to Alice, "Come in."

But it wasn't Alice who opened the door and brought in a tray of food. It was Edward.

There with his glorious body at the front door, he walked in and placed a tray of food on the dressing table. Bella used the back of her hand and wiped off the tears on her face and asked in a harsh tone, "What do you want?"

The two of them didn't talk ever since last week when she pleaded for Edward to save her dear Jacob. She hated him, hated him to the core. But yet, as she stared at him with a look of disgust, he looked sheepish? Yes. He looked sheepish.

He looked down and whispered, "Alice made me do this. Don't worry, the food's good."

After a week here, Bella knew the food was good, darn good to be exact. She didn't know what they put in the dishes but it was just scrumptious but no way was she going to tell Edward that. Instead, she just nodded and went to eat. Steak with a large serving of mash potatoes. When she was in College with Jacob, the two of them would share it. Steak was just a little too costly for them. With their tight budget, they could barely feed themselves.

She started poking through the food with her fork – she felt weird with Edward still in the room. Edward just stayed and looked. With another look of disgust, Bella said, "Do you have anything else you want? Or do you just like seeing me suffer?"

Edward looked pained by what Bella said. But he didn't bother to retort. He knew she was right for one. She was suffering and it's because of a mistake he made.

"I'm sorry, but I'm doing this to protect everyone" he started and went to place something on her bed. "I noticed you scribbling on the paper from the drawer so I thought this would be better. To keep you company."

_Protect _everyone? Bella didn't understand that line and decided to ignore it. Bella went over the bed to find a journal sitting there. It was pink and had a leather cover and a lock at the side. Inside, the papers were white with black lines and it had a fruity smell. Bella loved it. It was perfect. It could be her very own personal journal just like she always wished to have. On the first page it wrote,

_I noticed you liked to write stuff so I hope you'll like this._

_Edward_

She smiled a little, hugged the book and whispered, "Thank you."

Edward nodded and wished her good night before exiting through the door.

Leaving her food untouched, she pushed the plate aside, took out the pen and wrote down her first entry.

_Dear Diary,_

_This new world I'm in is truly weird but yet, it's mysterious. Alice has been just wonderful to me and the food's good too. And that king, he doesn't seem so bad. But still, I need to escape. I can't be a prisoner here forever. Jacob and I are to be married. My future's set and I want to spend it with him, out in the sun. Though this place is supposedly to be below New York, I can't stay here. I don't belong here. And not to mention the people who are worried about us. _

_We vanished into thin air just one day before the wedding. Renee, Charlie and Billy must be worried sick. Oh I do miss them. Let's hope this escape will be a success._

_Bella_

She closed the journal and went to finish her food – she'll need all the energy she can get – before running through the plan one more time. And she knew she was ready. When the clock turned to one, she would push the dressing table's chair to the window and climb out. Once outside, she would slowly climb down the tower and then, make a dash to the Tower where Jacob was being kept in. It wouldn't be difficult as there were no guards and Edward and Alice would be asleep. It would be easy.

~x~x~

As she sat on the edge of her, she was feeling edgy, nervous. Sure it seemed easy when you planned out everything, but still, Bella could not stop having the horrible feeling that something would go wrong. She used to look down on those who broke out of jail but now, she's doing just the same. But this was a totally different situation. She hadn't committed a crime.

When the clocked showed one, Bella knew it was time. Taking a few deep breaths, she changed to her T-shirt and jeans and went over to the dressing table and saw the little pink diary the king gave to her earlier on. _I'm sorry, but I'm doing this to protect everyone. _Bella didn't want to believe that what that king was doing was for her own good. But still, she decided to leave a piece of paper saying sorry. So, she took out a sticky note and scribbled the words, _I'm sorry but I have to do this._ After that, she stuck it on top of the diary and pushed the chair towards the window.

After that, she went to get a pillow and hid it under the covers – just in case someone came to check on her. When she was sure it looked like she was sleeping under the covers, she climbed up onto the chair and as quietly as possible, she opened window and climbed out. The window was quite small but she was skinny enough to squeeze through the tiny window. It was a good thing she was wearing jeans or her legs – like her arms – would be full of cuts. The pain came and left as Bella climbed out and she couldn't be bothered to check how bad the cuts were.

There was a small step when she was out the window. With her body pressed against the wall and her hand clutching the window, she checked to see how far down she needed to jump. Though it was only the second floor, it was impossible to climb down and jumping could break her legs if she didn't jump down properly. Shutting her eyes and hoping for the best, she let go of the window and jumped down with a soft _thump_.

Taking a minute to regain her balance, she checked her arms and they were no cuts or anything. No wounds. That was odd. She felt pain a minute ago. She just knocked that thought out and took it as her imagination.

And it hit her. She was out. She was out of that room. She was closer to freedom. Now, all she had to do was to get Jacob and get out of here. She started running, running towards the gates. As she saw the gates to exit the castle, she rushed towards it.

As she ran through the gates, she was hit by a strange force that made her stumble a little but it wasn't enough to stop her. So, she pushed through this force and ran out the gates. When she was out, she felt triumphant, like she had won something. She was one step closer to escape so much so that she could smell the air from the outside and feel the sun on her skin.

The dark and tall tower was just ahead and that was where Jacob is. So, she ran towards it. As she ran, she noticed the area around her. This place used to be a town with little homes around it but now, it was like a ghost town. There was absolutely nothing. No life forms, nothing, just a barren wasteland with the damaged houses. It emitted a gloomy and sad feeling that made her shudder and she quickened her pace towards the tower. But soon, she couldn't see the tower anymore. All she saw was a picture of grey and broken down houses. She was lost.

"Okay Bella. Don't panic. You'll be fine," she chanted.

However, suddenly, something moved between the house and Bella froze. Something was watching her. "Who's there?" she called out.

Her body was telling her to run, that danger was near but at that moment, she couldn't move, she just stood there frozen. Trepidation flowed through her at what was focusing on her. And worst of, _it _is not human.

Edward? Alice? Could it be them? Could they have found out she ran away and come to retrieve her? She was hoping it was them. Because the fear of that shadowy thing was nothing compared to the fear Bella had when she was first taken to the Underground.

"Who's there!" she shouted again when she got no reply.

And without warning, shadows started to appear in front of her. There were so many Bella couldn't tell how many, probably more than ten. They were just like normal human shadows but they could walk and move and worst of, they weren't confined by a human. Their eyes were hollow and so were their mouths and when you looked at them, they had razor sharp teeth. They were as black as night and Bella could hardly see them. She tried to punch or kick them but she couldn't even touch them. They moved with lightning speed.

They cornered her and she was trembling. "Don't get near me now," she warned though it came up more as a plea.

They started encircling her and hitting her from time to time like they were playing with her, teasing her. And every time they touched her, Bella would try to land a blow on them but to no avail. It was useless to try to stop them but she still continued trying. She never let go of her stance but she knew it didn't matter. They wanted something from her.

They now formed a loose circle around her and started to advance on her with sly smiles on their face. It was truly a terrifying sight with these weird creatures coming closer and closer to her. But Bella knew she shouldn't scream. Because showing fear right now would not help her.

"Stay away from me," she cried when one came even closer to her but that did not stop their steady advance on her.

Before she could blink, one pulled her throat and bit it hard and Bella let out an ear piercing scream.

* * *

And this marks the end of another chapter of Kidnapped. The next chapter should be pretty fun to write! ;)

Oh yes, before I forget, there will be some themes in this story that might change this story to an M rating. And I'm not very good with this rating system. =x so please do tell me if you think the rating should be changed from T to M.

Thanks! :D

And we're halfway through the reviews thing. I have 2 future chapters up for grabs though they're only ideas but I let one of my friends read one of the chapters and she loved it~ (:

See you guys next time~


	6. Rescue

An ear piercing scream ringed through his ears and Edward shot up from his bed. "Bella!" he shouted and ran to her room at lightning speed.

He slammed the door open to see that the dressing room chair was pushed to the window and that the window was opened. Quickly, he ran towards the bed and flipped the quilt over – hoping to find her sleeping soundly in her bed and that her screaming was because of a nightmare. However, that was not the case. Bella was not there. Instead, there was only a pillow on the bed.

"Fuck," he cussed under his breath.

As he ran for the door, he saw the pink journal he had given her earlier on her dressing table. On top, was a sticky note. He took it and read it.

_I'm sorry but I have to do this._

_Bella_

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!" he shouted and the entire room shook with the ferocity of his voice.

He ran back to his room and into the study. There, there was a fountain edged on the wall. It looked ancient as it was carved out of white stone. On the edge, a rose grew and coiled around the entire fountain. The water that flowed down was perfectly clear and it looked like a waterfall.

"Show me the girl," he commanded. And with that, the water flowing down glowed a little and it showed Bella.

She was at the corner of the town area and the shadows had gotten her. One had managed to bite her but she managed to swing it off but soon, they were all attacking her and with the overwhelming weight, she collapsed on the ground.

Edward ran – ran faster than he ever had towards the gates and to where Bella was at. He had to get there in time before they bite her again. Because they would drain her of every drop of blood she had and that would mean the end of her life.

When Edward got to her, she had collapsed. She had some cuts on her hands but he wasn't worried about those wounds. They would heal before she wakes up. The shadows had formed a close circle around her. They looked like they were fighting among themselves who would get the first bite.

The internal arguement didn't last long because one sprang towards Bella's neck with its teeth but Edward pounced on it and bit it hard – releasing as much venom as he could onto the repulsive creature. The shadow that was probably a lady before she died gave out a high pitched scream that stunned the rest.

The rest flinched a little from the scream and their attention was torn from Bella's to Edward's. He let go of the female shadow and crouched and readied himself for a fight. He swore that at that moment, no matter what happens, he would make sure Bella lives.

"So you want blood? Here I have blood, come on," he taunted them. Without thinking, he used his fingernail to make a small cut on him left arm. A second passed and the smell of his blood caught all of the shadow's attention. "See, blood." And he let a drop drip down his arm and they all attacked him.

They literally flew towards Edward and like Bella, formed a circle around him. Knowing that Bella was safe for now, he landed onto a crouch again and snarled – the wound on his arm already healed. There was no escape for him. He was trapped.

Soon, one of the shadows leapt towards him like a wolf pouncing on its prey just like how the female shadow did with Bella. However, Edward was much faster and managed to fling it to aside before it could bite his neck. Knowing that their little game of taunting would not work on him, all the shadows pounced and attacked him.

Bella was slowly regaining some clarity as she slowly blinked her eyes. She was on the floor and her body felt like it was paralyzed. Slowly, she used her hand to push her body up a little to see the horrific sight in front of her.

Edward was fighting with those shadows that attacked her before she collapsed. She didn't know if he was winning or if he was losing. They moved with such speed that it was all a blur. However, the minute one bit onto Edward's neck, he hissed and fell to the ground. He tried to fling it off but a few more pounced onto him and bit him too.

"No!" Bella shouted. The shadows who were not biting him turned their attention towards her and started moving towards her. She just stayed there, frozen, as she knew she would never be able to outrun them.

The biggest shadow pounced on her but before it could even touch her, Edward kicked it to aside. He had managed to break free from those who were biting him. The bigger one – clearly ashamed that he was hit – put out a hand to the others and they all froze. This one was clearly the leader of the group.

It fingered Edward to get closer and he did. His breathing was heavy but he crouched as did the leader of the group. Soon, each leapt onto each other and another blur of images flooded through Bella's eyes. She couldn't see what was going on except knowing that both had landed hits of their own on each other. The other shadows just stood and watch – all attention on Bella was lost. Though it was obvious the shadow leader was much stronger, Edward was faster.

One moment they were head to head, fighting for their lives and the next, they were standing apart. Edward had bent down and placed his hands on his knees for support and his breathing was heavier than before. Cuts could be seen on his face and arms and bite marks were visible on his neck. He was badly wounded. The shadow on the other hand looked like it was perfectly fine, like Edward hadn't been able to land a hit on it.

They continued staring at each other and it seemed like eons had passed before Edward fell to his knees. Oh no, he was going to lose. They were doomed. That was what Bella thought. However, the next minute, the group's leader collapsed on the ground and fainted.

He laid there motionless. He wasn't dead as he looked like he was still breathing. Shocked by this sight, the other shadows quickly retreated into the gloomy houses and Edward's entire body couldn't withstand it anymore. He collapsed on the floor – in a huge amount of pain.

Bella sat at the same spot with her arms supporting her entire body weight. They were shaking not only from having to support all her weight but also the fear contained inside her. She was in shock and her mind took longer to process what was going on. When it did, it was like a mental jolt hit and it hit her hard.

Edward had saved her. Those monsters were gone – for now at least. This was the perfect time to escape. They didn't really hurt her. She got up and was about to make a run for it when she saw the weakened man in front of her, the man who had saved her life earlier on. He wouldn't be able to stop her if she ran away – he was just too weak. But Bella couldn't do it. He saved her. How could she just abandon him like this? Those monsters could come back and kill him.

So, she went to him and helped him up. He could barely stand let alone walk. When she managed to pull him up, his legs collapsed on her. He wasn't exactly light and Bella had to use all her strength to help him up again.

He let out a weak cough. "Leave me… Head back to the castle. You'll be safe once you're inside," he murmured.

"I can't. Who knows when those monsters would come back? They will kill you. C'mon, you can do it."

Bella continued supporting Edward as they walked back to the castle. One of his arms was slung over her shoulders and one of her hands was on his stomach and other holding onto his waist. He could barely walk. Soon, they arrived at the castle and Bella brought him to his room where she helped him to his bed.

Slowly, she removed his shirt and gasped. He was filled with cuts and bruises. She could vaguely remember seeing him cutting his arm a little just now but it had healed in no time. Why hasn't these wounds healed?

"We have to clean these wounds," she chattered and rushed to the bathroom. She got a small bowl and filled it with warm water. After that, she took a towel and went and placed the bowl on Edward's desk. She sat on the bed and started to soak the towel with water and started petting it on his wounds. He growled in pain but soon, his breathing slowed. It was too slow and his body temperature was decreasing at a tremendous rate. His fiery skin no longer felt hot, it didn't even feel warm, it was cold.

Bella started to panic. "Edward. What's wrong? I saw you heal just now. Why aren't your wounds healing now?"

He let out another cough. "They took too much blood from me. I'm too weak now. My body's unable to heal." He let out another loud cough.

This was bad. His skin seemed to crinkle and his lips became extremely pale. It looked like it was difficult for him to even open his eyes. "Edward? Edward!" Bella was clearly panicking now, "What can I do to help?"

"There's nothing you can do Bella." He opened his eyes and looked at her. He was glad, glad he saved her. After a second, his eyes closed again.

"No. There must be something I can do. Just tell me!" Bella was clearly about to cry now.

As he opened his mouth to protest, another voice came from the door. "Let him drink your blood."

Edward's eyes immediately shot open and he tried with all of his remaining strength to turn towards the door and saw his sister Alice. There, his sister stood, eyes looking more serious and determined as ever. He shook his head like he was begging her.

She ignored him and looked at Bella. "Let him drink your blood Bella."

"What?" Bella was shocked. Let him drink her blood? It was like one of those creepy vampire movies.

"It's the only way to help him. His blood is too weak to help him heal and I can't let him drink mine. He needs to drink human blood. It will help his body gain the strength to regenerate."

Bella looked at Edward's deteriorating body. As each second passed, he had grown weaker and weaker. And then, she decided.

"Will this really help him?" she asked determined.

Edward eyed Alice again but she ignored him again. "Yes," Alice answered, "He only needs to drink a little bit and he'll be able to heal."

Bella nodded and pushed her hair away from her neck and lowered her neck to his face. "Bella don't," he protested as he turned his face away from her neck which showed the warm blood flowing through. He was so tempted but he couldn't.

She cupped one hand around his face and turned it to look into his eyes. They were so close to each other they could feel each other's warm breath on their face. "Drink. If this will help you, do it. You saved my life and I'm going to do the same for you. Now drink," she commanded.

She turned her neck again to Edward's face. The moment he caught the smell of the fresh blood flowing through her artery, he wasn't to resist anymore. He was too weak to resist. Whispering sorry, he kissed her neck before plunging his teeth into her neck and started drinking.

Bella expected it to be painful, for it to be an uncomfortable process but she was wrong. The minute Edward plunged his teeth into her neck; the most amazing feeling flowed through her body. It was so amazing – so amazing that it was beyond what words could describe. Heck, she would say it was better than sleeping with Jacob. It was the kind of _high _that any drug addict would pay by the hundreds just to experience it even for a second.

Before, her body was supported by her arms as she hovered above Edward. However, when the feeling hit her, her arms collapsed as she wrapped them around him. His body had jerked up a little when he first bit her but he too soon collapsed back onto the bed. He too experienced the same feeling Bella was feeling as he drank from her.

However, too soon, Edward's perfect lips left her neck and the feeling vanished. Her hands had now moved to his chest as their eyes locked on each other. It was the first time she noticed that his eyes were a lovely shade of green and she had never seen eyes so beautiful before. Both of them were breathing heavily.

They were still under the influence of the _high _they felt just now and they continued staring at each other. Before they could react or explain anything, Bella leaned her head down and closed the short distance between her and Edward. As she softly brushed his lips with hers, Edward gave her a kiss back. Slowly, she deepened the kiss as Edward's lips parted and kissed her back. Her fingers quietly roamed his perfectly built body before moving to his face and cupping it. Edward's arms warped around her waist.

Slow kisses soon turned hungry as Bella drove her tongue into Edward's mouth. Both were unwilling to give in as their tongues fought for dominance. Edward's hands couldn't help but roam down Bella's body as they started tugging onto her shirt – threatening to rip it off her body.

A ripping sound could be heard and realization suddenly hit Bella as the feeling slowly subsided. She jerked her body up and quickly climbed away from Edward and sat up – not looking at him. She placed her hand on her lips and touched it.

"Edward, I'm sorry. I didn't know what had gotten into me."

Edward too sat up. "It's the effect of my bite. I'm sorry for not stopping you."

Bella slowly turned around and saw that Edward's wounds had all healed and color had returned to his face. She smiled at that thought but him being shirtless made her want to push him down and kiss him again. She shook her head. _What the hell is going on? Pull it together Bella!_

Bella continued to sit on the bed as Edward went to get a shirt. After that he went to the sofa at the far end of the room and patted the seat next to him. Bella walked over and joined him, making sure she kept a distance between the two of them. She wasn't afraid of him anymore. She was worried about her body's desires.

"Thank you for that," Edward started.

"Don't think about it."

Edward nodded. "Now, I think you want some answers?"

Bella simply nodded.

His hands clapped together. "Very well then. I'll answer any question you would like to know but there'll be some I won't be able to tell you now."

"Fair enough," she replied with a smile.

Oh my, I made them kiss. *Stares into space for a minute…* Oh my gosh, they KISSED! Haha. But this kiss was under some weird freaky influence from Edward's bite. I got this freaky idea – the high feeling – from Vampire Academy if you would like to know.

Sorry I couldn't post this last night. I went to buy the Remember Me DVD and just had to watch it before I could write. But after I finished, I started typing and typing and I finished at 1am. I was really tired then so I decided to check through it in the morning. Sorry. On the plus side, I've finally booked my tickets for Eclipse for Thursday! I'm so excited. *Jumps up and down*

Okay, this here would regard the next chapter. I have decided to let the readers have a little say in the next chapter. Most of next chapter would surround Bella asking Edward some questions. I have a couple of basic ones in mind but **if you have any questions, this is the time to ask. You can ask anything that you would like to know more about and Edward will answer them for you in the next chapter. **But, there will be some questions that will not be addressed in the story because of one reason, SPOILERS. But I will personally send you a PM to ask if you would like to know about it. For some questions that I feel that there are no spoilers in but will be odd if Bella asked at this point, I'll answer it in the author's note. **So do leave a review if you have any questions!**

The next thing I would be working on will be on the last chapter of my add-on to Promise, _Memories_. I've written a little for it and I would like to finish it. But I am not sure when it'll be complete as it is quite a long chapter. So do keep the questions for this story coming in.

I'll see you guys again when I have time as school's starting on Monday and I have papers to write, projects to complete. So, HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON~

Lil Vamp Girl


	7. Questions

It feels so long since we've seen each other. Anyways, I'll blabber on later but just know that Kidnapped has been changed from **T **to **M**.

Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Though looking as calm as the ocean on the outside, Bella was actually screaming at the top of her lungs on the inside. She was so confused right now. One minute she was in some dark freaky alley being attacked by some of the weirdest things and hanging onto her dear life and the next, she's in Edward's room trying to save him. The minute he bit her, the most amazing sensations flowed through her and it was like an instantaneous reaction. Her mind was still the same but her body changed somewhat. She wanted Edward. She wanted to push him down and kiss him and ravish him. Thankfully for her, her mind was winning as she awkwardly walked over the tiny space between the room and the couch and sat on the other side of Edward.

"Would you like something to drink before we start?" Edward asked as he looked down. He too was having troubles trying to control the animal within him. He had been in perfect control of that side of him before but all his barriers broke down the minute he drank Bella's blood.

"Some coffee would be nice," Bella replied with a small smile.

Edward nodded and clapped his hands. Alice bounced into the room moments later with a coffee kart and asked Bella how she would like her coffee.

"Two sugars and one cream please," Bella answered with a small smile. Alice did as asked and gave Bella a white teacup with her coffee in it. Bella took a long whiff of the aroma of the coffee and smiled as she drank greedily ignoring the fact that the liquid was very hot and burned her throat. She was extremely thirsty and sleepy but she didn't want to go rest. She wanted her questions answered and she feared this would be the only time Edward would answer them.

Alice gave Edward his own cup and he took a sip before placing it on the coffee table next to the couch. He noticed that Bella was extremely pale – probably from the blood loss earlier on – and decided to ask Alice to get some red meat in her system larer. He quietly whispered into her ear before she nodded and exited the room with the coffee kart after she refilled Bella's cup and gave her brother a hug.

Bella took another big gulp of her coffee before placing it on the coffee table. She looked as Edward watched Alice as she walked out like she was in danger or something. "I don't get it," Bella started as Edward turned to her. "You two are brother and sister but you don't get like you're siblings."

"Then in your eyes, what do you see?" Edward asked back as he raised his left eyebrow and Bella blushed.

Bella shrugged before answering, "I don't know… The way the two of you act around each other, it's weird. Sometimes, you act so professionally with one other like with her serving coffee," Bella pointed to the cups of coffee on the table. "The next, you're hugging each other like the two of you are married."

"I know it can seem confusing seeing how we act around each other but do know that we have not done anything unethical or inhumane Bella. Alice and I are the only ones left in our family and this entire place. We hold many roles and it sometimes seems as though I'm disrespecting her but I'm not. I love my sister with every fiber of my being. She's all that I have left." Edward answered and the pain was so strong on his features that Bella was shocked to see that he could feel any emotion so strongly. It was mean to think that Edward couldn't feel anything but he always seemed like someone who was good at hiding what he was feeling on the inside.

"She's all you have left? Where's your family? Your mom? Your dad?" Bella asked.

"My family was destroyed. The humans murdered them all," Edward hissed. He looked so angry, so pained. He looked like he was about to kill someone. He closed his eyes shut for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose before he opened them again. "Please, let's not talk about it anymore. It just hurts too much."

Bella nodded and proceeded to her next question. "What were those things that attacked me?"

Edward returned back to his emotionless state and placed his chin on his knuckles as he looked at Bella. "Those things that attacked you are called shadows Bella."

Bella became even more confused. All she could imagine was the shadow that followed her around when she was blocking the light. She shook her head to tell Edward she didn't understand and his lips seemed to twitch a little.

"They're not the shadows that humans have come to know about. They're…spirits if you must say, they're the spirits of vampires who were killed," Edward said as Bella gasped. She had always thought vampires were just fiction. In normal circumstances, she would have just laughed it off but after the day's activities, she didn't even blink before she believed everything Edward told her.

"But doesn't one's spirit go to heaven when they… move on?" Bella choked out.

"For vampires they don't. You see Bella, when a human gets bitten and turns into a vampire, their soul is forever locked away in this world and they are unable to move on to the next life. They stay here on Earth but as shadows as they no longer have a physical body."

"No physical body? Can they like possess another person's body?"

"To answer your first question, yes they don't have a physical body Bella. You see, the only way to actually destroy a vampire is to burn his or her body completely. When the physical form is gone, they lose themselves completely. Their emotions, their sense of right and wrong, everything is gone. The only thing that is left within them is their insatiable thirst and that is why they attacked you. The shadows living here have been deprived of blood for so long they would attack anything with blood in their bodies that they come across," Edward explained.

"If they need blood so much, why can't they just go above and get it?" Bella asked.

"Simple. They can't get near sunlight. There are many vampires living above the Underground but their bodies protect them from the sun. A sparkle is produced from the chemicals that are released from the body to protect the vampires from burning but once you lose your body, you lose the chemical. Any shadow who come across the sun or any forms of strong light burns and their souls just vanishes and is completely eradicated. Many vampires who have died when they are above have been destroyed because of the sun."

"I don't get it," Bella asked as she was getting more and more confused. "If they can be destroyed completely, why not just wait and use some kind of light or something to destroy them?"

"Shadows are extremely difficult to destroy Bella. Their minds are only concerned with thirst they don't care if they hurt you or anything. They have also learnt to work in teams over the years. The team that you encountered was considered small and from the weaker, younger vampires. The older and larger teams are much harder to destroy, almost impossible even."

"Why can't they just come here? Is Jacob going to be safe?" Bella asked. Thoughts of Jacob being in trouble immediately brought her to a panic.

"Jacob is perfectly safe in the tower and so are you as long as you remain in the castle walls. There's a special barrier around this castle that prevents shadows from entering. You'll be safe and so will Jacob."

Bella nodded, relieved to know she and her fiancé are safe. There was so much information for her to process and she desperately needed to write this down somewhere or at least be alone to think about it. "I think that's all I want to ask," she said as she took her coffee and drank deeply. The liquid had already turned cold but she didn't care. It still felt good to have something slither down her dry throat.

"You don't want to know what I am?" Edward asked as he cocked his eyebrow.

Bella continued to drink her coffee as she looked at Edward. "I thought that question was out of bounds so I didn't ask." She placed her cup back on the table after taking another gulp.

Edward let out a weak chuckle before answering, "It's not an 'out of bounds' question."

"You're not gonna continue? I mean you can't just stop there now that you've mentioned it," Bella replied, irritated that Edward didn't continue.

Edward bent his head down a little before bending up and looked at her and smiled. It wasn't the kind of smile that showed his teeth but a smile as his lips went up. "I said I would only answer questions you asked me Bella. You didn't ask me what I am."

Bella puffed up one of her cheeks in annoyance at Edward's childish ways. "Silly… Okay fine. What are you Edward?"

"I am neither a human nor am I a vampire Bella. I am both. I am what my people call a vampire hybrid. A hybrid in short."

"Hybrids? Is Alice one too? How in the world can you be half human and half vampire? Aren't vampires like unable to reproduce or something?" Bella asked quizzically.

Edward smirked. "You like you chatter now don't cha," Edward teased and Bella blushed. He took his coffee and drank before answering, "Yes, Alice is a hybrid too. And though it is impossible for a vampire to give birth, it is possible for vampires to reproduce. My mother was a human. She conceived with my vampire father and I was born."

"Are you like other vampires?"

"Not really. I have blood flowing through my veins. I can go out into the sun without sparkling thanks to the human part of me. I am much weaker than the average vampire as in I'm not as strong as them but my speed is a match to theirs. Like some vampires, Alice and I have been gifted with extra senses."

"Extra senses?"

"Yes. Extra senses. I am able to sense what others are thinking and Alice is able to sense one's future. As said before, I am much weaker as compared to other vampires because of my human half so our senses are not always right. They are powerful but not always right. You for one Bella are one of the few people whom I can't sense. I am unable to sense a single thing that is on your mind."

"Do you drink blood?" Bella asked.

"I am accustomed to eating regular human food but yes, I do drink blood and I would much prefer to drink. Blood is just much more appetizing and keeps me strong but I don't partake in drinking from human on a regular basis. An occasional sip or two I do but never as much as I just took from you."

Bella blushed as she remembered the encounter before and quickly shook her head as her body was trying to conquer her mind. "Occasional sips? I highly doubt any human would let you drink from them Edward. It's just creepy and wrong."

"Unless you talk about those scantily dressed women on the streets of New York. They are more than willing for more than just one sip."

"Wait. You mean hookers?"

Edward nodded. "Alice and I would occasionally go to the above and seek some _companionship_. We never stay till the end and our _companions_ always think we were just a dream. We always cover our tracks ensuring that no one would know of our existence. But we haven't been doing it for awhile. The only thing that we are unable to cover up would be our bite marks."

Bella flinched at that thought. Edward getting hot and heavy with a hooker and biting her and making all those wonderful sensations flow through her. "There's just one more thing I would like to ask," she started and Edward nodded. "Why did I feel that way when you bit me just now?"

"I was waiting for that question. When I bite someone, my teeth would release two things, venom and endorphins. I will first explain the venom. Venom when released into your bloodstream would change you into a vampire. However, only male hybrids can release venom but over the years, I have learnt to control my release of venom. The thing that I am unable to control would be the endorphins. I don't know how but hybrids release venom and endorphins when they bite. Regular vampires can't do that and it's impossible for them to control their secretion of venom when they bite a human. The endorphins when released into the human bloodstream would cause the sensations that you felt when I bit you Bella and as it spreads, some of it would come back to me as I drink and I too would feel those sensations. This makes drinking from a human a very pleasurable experience."

Bella shuddered at that thought of the biting being pleasurable but the itching feeling returned. She wanted to have sex with Edward. Her mind said no but her body was like yelling to her about the lust she felt for this creature.

"I think that's about all the questions you wanted to ask?" Edward said seeing that Bella was getting quite uncomfortable. She nodded. "I'll ask Alice to bring you to your room and prepare your dinner then. Alice," Edward called out.

Alice appeared moments later smiling from ear to ear and extended out her hand to take Bella's. "I've prepared dinner and it's waiting in your room Bella. Better go get it while it's hot," Alice chirped.

Bella was shocked to say the least and quickly looked at the old clock on the wall. So much time had passed and she didn't even know it. She felt her stomach growl and realized that she had missed both breakfast and lunch. She was famished now. Alice laughed loudly when Bella placed her hand on her stomach. "I have some ribs with your name on it Bella so let's go. Edward's about to eat too. I've laid everything on the dining room table so eat till your heart's content k!"

"How about I make your life easier by eating with Edward? Is that okay?" Bella asked.

Alice's smile broadened. "Of course it's okay Bella. It's more than okay. There's more than enough food on the dining room table so why not you and Edward head down to eat while I clear the tray in your room? I'll join you guys after I've finished cleaning kay!"

Bella smiled and nodded as Alice left the room.

As she followed Edward down the long hallway towards the dining room, she couldn't help but take another look at her surroundings. It still was the same grey walls surrounding her but the surrounding walls no longer held fear for her. She was definitely getting used to her surroundings.

No words were exchanged as they continued walking down the hallway towards the dining room until they came upon a huge door that was exactly twice Bella's height. She gasped at the how grand yet ancient the place looked as the doors opened and they walked into the dining room.

The room was adorned with paintings and flowers hung at the side. In the middle of the room held a long table with a chair on each end and different kinds of food was placed on the table from fruits to veggies to fish and a huge plate of ribs laid in the middle. Above the table hung a chandelier with all the candles lit and it created a very warm feeling inside Bella. The smell from the food and add on to Bella's intense hunger made her drool as she saw the food on the table.

Edward brought Bella to her seat and after he pushed her chair in with her sitting on it, he walked to the other end of the table and took his seat. As Bella looked up, Edward seemed so far from her and she quickly stood up and pulled her chair to sit right next to him on the table.

Edward gave her a confused expression as she pulled her chair like a cavewoman over to him and sat down. As she looked at Edward's expression, she mocked looking stern and said, "What? It doesn't feel like we're eating together if I'm on the other side of the room. I can hardly see your face from the other end…" She smiled and laughed a little before taking her fork and looked like a three year old for a minute. "Let's eat!" she cheered before helping herself to the food.

Edward couldn't help but laugh at Bella's childlike ways and when Bella looked at him, she was a little shocked to see how beautiful he looked when he was smiling. Edward took awhile to compose himself before starting to eat as well.

Alice soon came into the dining room and after awhile, some light conversation started. Bella asked what she would need to do as a companion. Edward explained to her the basic principles of being a companion and it turned out being a companion was nothing more than being a friend to the king. She was relieved that she didn't need to do anything weird that she didn't want to do. Being a friend was easy enough.

After dinner, Alice took Bella to her room and took out her pajamas from the closet as Bella showered in the bathroom. As Bella came out of the bathroom with only a towel covering her, she was surprised that she had yet another new piece of nightwear on the bed. It was sleeveless and a pretty purple with ruffles at the bottom.

After she had put on her night gown, she turned and saw that Alice was putting everything back in its place. "Alice, how is it possible that I get new clothes every day? Do you toss those clothes that I have worn before into the trash or something?" Bella asked.

Alice let out another high pitched laugh and came over and took Bella's hands in hers and smiled. "Course not. I just put it at the back of the closet. I love shopping and having someone other than me to shop for is tons of fun. I'm supposed to wait on you Bella so I'm gonna make sure you're spoiled for choice." Bella looked down and nodded. She was never the materialistic kind of girl coming from a family who earned just enough to make ends meet.

Alice continued cleaning up and soon, the mess Bella had made the previous night was completely cleared out minutes later with her pink diary sitting on her dresser. Alice wished Bella goodnight before exiting her room.

Bella got up from her bed and went over to write in her diary. After she finished writing, she pulled the covers on the bed and climbed in. Clearing everything in her mind, she soon fell into a deep sleep…

_Dear diary,_

_I'm so confused. Everything's changed. I am never going to be able to leave this place. There's no way Edward would ever let me leave and I can't escape. The shadows will kill me before I can even leave. I know I should be feeling sad about this but I'm not. I don't understand why but I starting to like this place. Call me crazy or anything but this place isn't that bad. I'm no longer afraid of the grey walls that surround me but instead, a sense of warmth can be felt. I don't feel like a stranger anymore. I'm not afraid anymore. _

_I learnt so much today. Vampires exist. Creatures that I thought only existed in nightmares and inside horror stories exist and they live among the humans. The thought of maybe during one part of my life that I could have actually interacted or even seen one scares me. This could maybe explain some of the homicides in our world._

_I got to know the people here so much better. Alice has been more than pleasant. Under that rock cold exterior is a bundle of joy. She's like the sister I never had, the best friend whom I always wanted but never got. When she's smiling, I can't help but feel all my helplessness wash away and just be happy._

_Now we go to the next person, Edward. I don't understand what pushed me to kiss him just now. I could blame it all on the endorphins from his bite but I know it's not exactly the case. We didn't talk about it after he apologized and I'm thankful for that. It's just too awkward to even think about it. Though he did mention the sensations and stuff, he never wandered near the 'kiss' territory. Another weird thing that happened, when I touched my neck just now, all I felt was smooth skin and when I went to look at the mirror, I couldn't see any bite marks. I was sure I felt Edward tear my skin when he drank from me just now but there was no indication that he did it. He did mention about the hookers he hooked up with having bite marks but where are mine? It makes this all seem like a dream. _

_What the hell is going on?_

_Bella_

~x~x~

"You smiled today. Haven't seen you smile in like a million years Edward," Alice came bouncing into the room as she wrapped her arms around Edward's waist and rested her head on his chest. Edward sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on top of hers for awhile. As she looked up, Edward was smiling at her. "I told you she would change you in ways unimaginable. One day with her and you're already smiling. Guess what one week would do."

Edward chuckled as he unwrapped his arms around his sister and went to his desk. "It still doesn't remove the danger she is being faced with."

"Yes… He is a tricky one. I can't sense anything about his future. I don't know what he's planning but no matter what; I know we can beat him. He's not really that big a threat Edward. So long as the barrier is up, we're safe," Alice said as she went to massage Edward's shoulders. He was too stressed from the situation itself.

"You know very well he's watching us. The notes, the warnings are dangerous enough. What if I get careless?" Edward asked, a hint of panic coloring his tone.

"You won't okay. Now stop worrying. He won't get anywhere near Bella. I promise you, she's as safe as can be here," Alice assured him and wrapped her arms around Edward's shoulder.

"Let's hope so," he whispered as he stood and went over to the watery screen and called to look at Bella. She was in her room and writing on her diary and looking totally at peace as she wrote. Edward couldn't help but smile again as he went to his desk and took out his own journal. As words started appearing on the page, Alice excused herself and left the room.

_Alice's plan worked. I drank from her. And it tasted so good. It was the first time I drank blood so clean unlike those New York girl's I used to drink from before. Theirs tasted like alcohol and drugs and though the blood was still there, the chemicals in their blood made it a little less appetizing._

_She makes me feel whole. I don't know how she did it from one day but I feel more at peace when I'm with her. She gives me the feeling when mom was still around. God I miss her like crazy. If I wasn't so weak back then, she would still be with me and she would be holding me and we would be chatting happily while drinking hot coco or something near the fireplace._

_I wasn't able to protect my mother but I'll protect Bella. I'll protect her with my life._

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a ton of fun writing this while watching an episode of Glee on TV that I couldn't stop and study when the show ended so I do hope I didn't disappoint! Sorry for the long wait but between finishing Memories and studying and schoolwork, Kidnapped just got pushed back to the end of my to-do-list.

That and because I've been obsessed with reading fanfiction. I'm addicted to coldplaywhore's fanfictions and I highly recommend them. The stories are really good and I just find myself falling in love with Edward all over again.

For those who are worrying that I would stop writing, I promise I won't and that's because I really want to see everyone's reaction when I reach the ending. It's going to be epic that I can promise. Let's just say it'll be something no one would really expect? I don't know…

Regarding the questions posted from last chapter, I'll be doing a blog entry on questions given in my fanfic blog. The link is in my profile. It contains more of my personal touch in it as in I explain how I got the concepts and stuff. Edward answered in a very scientific way? Anyway, there's one question I didn't answer in the story but it will be in the blog entry but the person who asked already knows the answer. **Spoilers **are inside so don't read if you hate spoilers. The poster for Kidnapped is also posted on the blog!

Next will be on the 100 reviews contest thingy. I have decided to cancel it. From the response I got from the last chapter of Memories, I have decided to cancel it and to say I'm sad is true. But I don't blame anyone for not reviewing. It's not my best work so yeah…

**Question for this chapter: What are some of the things you would like to see Bella and Edward do in the future chapters?**

I've decided to do this so readers can have a say in what they would like and also ease some of my writer's block. So do go hit the reviews button and tell me what you want! If I love the idea, I'll expand it into a full chapter!

Lil Vamp Girl


	8. Gift

**And after such a long time, an update! Thanks to the five wonderful people who reviewed! It is because you people who bother to leave me a little review that motivated me to finish this while watching an episode of Glee and not procrastinate till tomorrow to finish it. You guys are AWESOME!**

The past week and half can only be described as simple, carefree and relaxed. Bella and Edward had grown closer over the past week. It was very relaxed for the both of them. All the sexual tension was at the back of their minds as they just spent time together and just talked. Edward felt more relaxed than he had in years and Alice is extremely happy about this change in her brother.

The day went by like any other days. There was no indication of light and day in the Underground. The only indication of time would be the clocks that hung on the grey walls of the castle. So, Bella managed to set for herself a little schedule. At ten at night, she would fall asleep and wake up at six in the morning. Her biological clock was used to this timing that she didn't need an alarm clock. At exactly six o clock in the morning, without a doubt, her eyes would open and five minutes later, Alice would come into the room and rush Bella to the bathroom to wash up.

Bella would then drag her little body into the bathroom where she would shower and brush her teeth and when she came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, her clothes would be laid on her bed. Today was a little chilly so Alice had placed a hot pink long sleeved turtle neck sweater and a pair of dark jeans on her bed. Bella took her clothes and started to put them on and noticed that they were a little snug. Either she gained weight or that Alice that given her the wrong size of clothing this morning.

Alice strolled into the room shortly after to bring Bella to the dining room. Bella found this silly as she already knew how to go to the dining room on her own but Alice said that it was a must. Bella just figured it was to keep her out of trouble. Though Edward did mention once that the castle was for her to explore, she knows that there are places which had been labeled as forbidden.

"Come on Bella! Edward's already waiting for you at the dining room! I made pancakes today!" Alice chirped as she pulled Bella out the door.

Bella chuckled. "Ok humor me, did you like give me something tighter because I swear this sweater is a little too tight today," Bella said as they walked down the hallway.

Alice let out a high pitched laugh before answering, "It's the same size Bella dear. You just gained a little weight that's all."

Bella's eyes bulged a little. Gained weight? That could never be good. "How in the world is it possible I gained so much weight in a week? It's not like I'm having six meals a day or anything…" Bella whined.

"Oh shush it Bella. So you gained a little weight. Big deal… You were a pack of skin and bones when I met you! You've been eating a little more than before so it's a definite that you would gain some weight. That and you now lead a stress free life. It's to your benefit my dear," Alice chided and Bella nodded.

Before she had been taken to the Underground, Bella led a very hectic life. Between struggling to get her career started and planning for her wedding, she was completely stressed out and in order to save money, she took it upon herself to skip lunch on busy days. But now, she ate three full meals a day and life is much more relaxed now. It's no wonder she gained weight. Not that she's complaining. It was a welcomed change in a way. Her friends were always saying she needed to gain some weight and although she did try, it never worked.

They soon walked up to the huge double doors and Alice opened the doors as the aroma of freshly made pancakes filled Bella's senses. If it tasted as good as it smelt, Bella was bound to finish two person's share worth of pancakes.

"Good morning Edward," Bella smiled as she went to take her seat next to him. Alice as per usual went to give Edward a kiss on the cheek before taking her seat on the opposite side of Bella.

"Good morning to you too, I hope you slept well last night," Edward replied and gave Bella a small smile.

"Mmm hmmm," Bella nodded as she took a sip of her orange juice and started eating her pancakes as Alice and Edward too started eating.

After breakfast, Edward brought Bella back to her room as Alice cleaned up. Bella had wanted to help out but as per usual, Alice rebuffed her and told her to go spend some time with her brother. Bella quietly nodded and went back to her room to grab her journal before heading over to Edward's room to spend the morning with him.

Edward's room was much bigger than Bella's room. The place actually consisted of two rooms, a study and a bedroom. The bedroom was the room you entered when we stepped inside the door with the king sized bed at the centre of the room and a couch and coffee table at the corner. The walls were decorated with paintings and flowers. As one walked more into the bedroom, they would notice the bedroom lead to his study room. In the study room, there was a table with papers scattered all over and there was a huge book shelve at one corner and next to the bookshelf was another couch and a coffee table. However, the thing that captured Bella's attention the most was the fountain edged on the wall at the far end of the room. The designs carved on the white stone were so flawless but the most beautiful part was the rose that coiled around the fountain.

As per routine, every morning, Bella would be sitting at the couch of the study writing on her diary and maybe take a book from the shelf and read while Edward worked on what he needed to do. Bella never bothered to ask as she felt that she didn't need to know and even if Edward told her, she doubt she would understand a single thing he said. She was never king or queen of anything. She was just Isabella Swan and soon to be Isabella Black. Well, that was history now that she's here.

"Bella, you okay?" Edward asked with concern in his voice. Bella quickly shook her head as she went back to reality. She was in one of her daydreams about her loss. It was odd as she didn't think about it much over the past week but sometimes, it would just come back. During those moments, she would be in a daze and look like she's about to break down or something. It was usually when she was alone though.

Bella quickly cleared her throat and smiled at Edward to tell him she's fine and went to the bookshelf to grab a book to read. She didn't know if she heard it or if it was just her imagination when she heard Edward mutter, "I'm sorry. But I can't let him have you." She quickly shook her head and knew that she imagined it. There was no way someone like Edward would ever want her.

She looked through the bookshelf for a new book to read as she had just finished one yesterday. It was just so good she couldn't stop till she finished the entire book. As she looked through the collection, she found a book with a collection of fairy tales in it and took it immediately. She had read all the Disney fairytales but she wanted to read how it was originally written without all the happily ever afters.

"Interesting choice you have there. It's one of my all time favorites," Edward said and Bella smiled and hugged the book closer to her chest.

"Yeah. When I was younger, my mother used to read me all these fairy tale stories, the G rated ones that were more suitable for children," Bella chuckled as she remembered the old times where her mother would tuck her into bed and read her a fairy tale. She also remembered how she used to wish she could be a princess too. But then again, didn't every little girl want that? To ride off into the distance with their prince charming and live happily ever after.

"Which one was your favorite?" Edward asked as he placed the stack of papers in front of him down.

"That one's easy. _The Little Mermaid_," Bella replied with a laugh.

Edward quirked his eyebrow. "I'm curious, why the little mermaid? I would have expected you to say _Beauty and the Beast_," Edward asked as he chuckled.

"Because of my name right? That's so typical," Bella teased as she placed her hands on her hips which made Edward smile wider. "Don't worry, you're not the first. Many have asked me this before. Well, let's just start out by saying I grew up watching _Disney _movies and I love them all. But I love Ariel the most cause of her red hair," Bella laughed a little before continuing. "I know its lame but I was young and naïve and I loved the color red at that time. What do you expect? At that time, anything red was considered pretty to me. Anyways, I soon started grabbing every single little mermaid book I could get my hands on and trust me when I say I got a lot of them." Bella couldn't help from giggling at her sheer silliness when she was a little girl. "You can imagine the shock when one day, I got a book about the little mermaid dying instead of living happily ever after with her prince."

"I can only imagine the look on your face when you read that page," Edward said as he tried to muffle his laughter.

"You can laugh you know. Well, in the end I started to read other books and I think it was about that time my love for books got cultivated and the library became my best friend next to Jacob of course. He was always happy to go with the library with me no matter how much the other boys teased him for always being dragged around by me like a little puppy," Bella giggled and turned a little sad when she thought of the past and about Jacob.

Edward let out a cough before trying to steer away from the topic. "You really love reading don't you?"

Bella shook her head and went back to her perky self. "More than anything in the world. I love it when I open a book and I'm brought into a new world entirely. All the problems I have just seem to wash away the instant I open a book."

Bella didn't know why but she was tingling on the inside. It had been awhile since she got so animated about reading. She was always well composed when at work and with her friends as she didn't want them to think she was weird or anything. Not many of her friends shared her love for reading but she didn't blame them. With work and things that needed to be done, one was left with little time to just sit at a quiet spot and read. She herself hasn't been able to sit down for a good book for a long time with having to plan for the wedding and working and all the drama going on in life. She just didn't have the time but now, she had all the time in the world.

The two continued to talk about books and Bella too found out that Edward was also an avid reader. He likes to read mysteries whereas Bella prefers romance so they got into a heated debate about which one was better and not one end seemed to win or close to winning. Alice soon poked her head into the room and announced that lunch was ready. The two decided to call a truce as they went to the dining room for their meal.

~x~x~

"And what's got you is such a good mood today big brother!" Alice bounced into the room and wrapped her arms around Edward's waist as he looked out the window. Edward chuckled as he turned around to face Alice and hugged his sister close.

It was night time and Alice had already made sure that Bella was in bed and resting before she came to look for Edward. "You already know what she is," Edward replied and kissed Alice's forehead.

"Hmmmm, it's not a thing so I have to say it's a person. Is it oh a lil human named Bella?" Alice asked in mocked curiosity.

"Ding ding! And the little lady's got it right! Congratulations lil lady," Edward chuckled as he answered in a game show host voice.

Alice laughed before bouncing a step back and gave Edward a kiss on the cheek. "You have jokes now. We should give Bella a Nobel Prize for this wonderful achievement."

Edward just gave Alice a gentle smile. "I want to do something for her," Edward said and Alice bounced up and down like a child about to receive something she was begging her parents to get her for months. "But… I don't know what to do," Edward sighed.

"Oh that's easy enough. Give her something," Alice said as she continued smiling brightly.

"She doesn't seem like the materialistic kind of girl so anything shiny is out. And I think she'll just freak out if I gave her anything expensive," Edward said.

"Maybe something meaningful? It doesn't have to be anything expensive. What does Bella like?" Alice asked. She was trying her best to help and Edward appreciated his sister's help immensely.

"I don't really know her that well but I know she loves reading from out chat this morning."

Alice's eyes glowed. "The solution's simple. Give her the library. Just like what Beast did for Belle in _Beauty and the Beast_," Alice said happily.

"So you're saying I'm a beast? Wow, thanks for the ego boost Alice…" Edward joked and Alice just blew a raspberry at him. Edward chuckled but soon got serious. "You know the library's out of the question. It's important."

"Edward, that library hasn't been touched for hundreds of years. Dust bunnies are growing on top of dust bunnies for crying out loud. I think _she'll _really appreciate it if someone got to use it like she did. She'll like that," Alice reasoned.

"You're exaggerating. I know you go to the library all the time and clean it up. You won't let dust bunnies grow on top of dust bunnies," Edward said and walked over to the bookshelf and started to browse through the books until he found the book that Bella had been reading earlier in the day. He held his position there as he stared at the book. Bella's presence still lingered a little on the book.

Alice came and patted him on his shoulder. "You know it would mean so much to _her _if you gave Bella the library. It's a win-win situation. Bella will love it and the library that _she _adored will be in the best hands. Do it for the books Edward. They're screaming to be opened and read," Alice said as she kissed Edward's shoulder.

Edward sighed and went to sit on the couch. Bella's scent was still there and Edward couldn't help but chuckle. God knows how long she's been sitting on the couch in his study. He had already grown so accustomed to having her company.

"You really think she'll like it?" he asked as he looked at his sister.

"I'm sure of it," Alice assured.

~x~x~

"What is it you wanted to show me?" Bella asked as she walked with Edward down the hallway. There were small but notable differences to each hallway of the castle so Bella was sure she had never been down to this hallway before.

"It's a surprise so just follow me okay?" Edward said as he continued to walk down the hallway. He seemed really excited for some reason. Bella just nodded and followed him down the long hallway until they finally reached a huge double door. The door was made from a very dark wood. It looked smooth and had very detailed patterns. Bella stood there wide eyed and her mouth hung open. Edward chuckled before saying, "Ready? Let's go."

Edward pushed the doors opened and Bella was simply star struck by the sight before her. Shelf after shelf and they were filled with books of every size. There was just so many she couldn't even count them. As she slowly walked into the room, she went to take Edward's hand to steady herself but quickly took it away as the sudden flow of electricity flowed through her. She had no idea why she felt that way.

She went to one of the shelves and couldn't help but smile. There were just so many books and so much for her to explore. She couldn't wait to start. "Do you like it?" asked the velvet voice as some warm air brushed against her neck. Edward was standing exceptionally close to her and she couldn't help but blush.

As she turned around, Edward had taken a step back and was just staring at her waiting for her to answer. "Yeah, I really love it. Thanks for bringing me here," she smiled as she said it, all the awkwardness she felt moments ago gone now.

"Good, it's yours," he said.

It took a few minutes before Bella truly understood what was going on. Edward gave her a library, a library full of the most wonderful books in the whole wide world and waiting for her to open them and read them. She was overwhelmed with joy that she didn't understand her following actions.

She jumped up, wrapped her arms around Edward's neck and gave him a huge hug and kept on chanting thank you to him. Edward was a little shocked but gave her back a friendly hug. When they broke apart, she couldn't stop her smile and the warm feeling on her cheeks.

Edward stroked it a little and smiled at her. "I'm glad you like it. Please take good care of it. It once belonged to someone very important to me."

"Yes. I promise I will. Oh my gosh thank you so much Edward," Bella said with the wide grin still on her face. She hugged Edward again but it was a less intimate one this time.

~x~x~

"Edward? You there?" Bella asked as she went into Edward's room.

It was late at night but there was something bugging her that she wanted to ask Edward and if she didn't do it, she didn't think she would be able to fall asleep tonight. He wasn't in his room though so she thought he wasn't in so she decided to leave but then, she saw a bright light coming from the study room so she decided to go see if Edward was there.

And there he was. He was standing near the fountain edged on the wall. The water was glowing and his fingers seemed to be doing something on the water. As she stepped closer into the room, Edward stopped and the glow disappeared for a second.

"Bella? What brings you here?" Edward asked as he started to work on the glow on the water again.

"Sorry to be a bother but there was something I wanted to ask you. Never mind, I see that you're busy so I'll ask you in the morning," she quickly excused herself as she started to leave clearly embarrassed that she had interrupted Edward while he was doing something.

"It's okay. Stay. I'll be done in a minute. I'm just strengthening the shield outside the castle. It weakens with time so I need to strengthen it ever so often or the _Shadows _would be able to penetrate it and enter the castle," he said as his fingers continued dancing on the water.

After he finished, he joined Bella on the couch and Bella was a little hesitant about asking her question. She placed her hands on Edward's and she couldn't deny the electric current that flowed through the minute she touched him that she flinched.

Edward noticed this and too quickly put his hands on his side. "So what is it that you want to ask Bella?" he asked.

Bella swallowed hard before her mouth opened. "Okay so I know I'm being a little selfish in asking this since after what you've done for me and all…" she started and took another big gulp. As she looked at Edward's eyes, she could see the intense curiosity in his eyes. She decided to just ask and hope for the best. "I want to see Jacob."

**And we're done for another chapter! My exams are over and I'm now on break so the updates will be coming in more often at least until the end of October. I have decided to live the life of a hermit for the rest of my holidays so the only things I'll be seeing a lot will be the four pink walls of my room and my laptop. Yay for me…**

**Next chapter is a Jacob chapter so you're warned. I'm still a little unsure of what to write but I hope I'll get some inspiration tomorrow. I've already written a brief outline of what I want for this story though.**

**A recommendation that I have for my wonderful readers would be **_**Let's Get Physical **_**by **_**Lalina**_**. I'm already dreaming of Trainerward. *Sigh…* Stories written by **_**coldplaywhore **_**are also just awesome. I've already finished quite a handful of her stories and I can't wait to finish the one I'm currently reading.**

**I'm going out to watch **_**Vampires Suck **_**tomorrow. I heard it's really bad. Oh well, I'm a horrible movie critic. I think everything is good. But a plus point would be that the guy acting Edward Sullen is dreamy but not as dreamy as the Rob.**

**I'll end here. Do leave reviews as it warms my heart as much as Edward giving Bella a library. Sigh… If only such guys existed in real life~**

**Question for this chapter: What would you like Alice's eye color to be? Bella's is chocolate brown and our dear Edward's is green!**

**So hit the little review button and tell me what you would like! See you next time and I hope soon~**

**Lil Vamp Girl**


	9. Preparations

**Okay, so I like promised a Jacob chapter but I never expected this chapter to be so long so for the time being, Jacob will not make an appearance. But but but! This is a little Edward Bella chapter and I just love writing their communication together. The start happens a little before Bella requests to see Jacob in Edward's room so I hope you like it!**

**And many thanks to the wonderful people who reviewed the previous chapter! You people make me want to quit playing my FB games and write and finish the chapter sooner!**

_Dear diary,_

_I still can't believe it. Edward gave me a library today. Can you believe it? A library! You can only imagine the excitement that's inside me right now. I didn't get to explore it much today but I managed to look through a few shelves and pick some books that looked interesting and let me just say; I can't wait to start them. I'm literally tingling on the inside just by thinking about the new worlds that are waiting for me to be explored._

_Thinking about books makes me think about Jacob… Is he alright? Are his wounds healed? Is he being properly cared for? These are some of the questions that have been haunting me these few days. I wish there was some way I can see him to make sure he's okay. I miss him._

_Yes, I miss him so much. I miss the days where we just sat down and read a book together. I miss him holding me close and kissing me as I was always the slow reader. Whenever he finished like the whole page, I would still be halfway through. He never complained though, not even once. Instead, he would kiss me and send Goosebumps down my neck._

_Maybe I could ask Edward if I could go see him? No. I can't do this. Edward's already been so kind to me, I can't just abuse his kindness and use it to my advantage. Shockingly, I'm starting to care about him. I don't want to hurt his feelings but I really want to see Jacob. Do you think it's too much?_

_I don't know what to do… HELP!_

_Bella_

As Bella sat on her bed and closed her diary, she was conflicted. As she bit her lip, she was contemplating whether to ask Edward if she could see Jacob. She doesn't know why but she's got this itching feeling that she would hurt Edward's feelings if she asked. She couldn't find a reason why this would hurt Edward but she just had that feeling.

After a few minutes of thinking which included pacing around the room and pulling her hair, she decided to just give it a shot and go ask Edward. At most even if he said no, she would have an ease of mind knowing she tried. Will she?

As she left her room, she suddenly felt a little lost as Alice or Edward was always with her when she was out of the room. She never really ventured out of her room on her own before. But she had a rough idea of how to go to Edward's room.

She would first head down to the dining room before heading over to his room. There's sure to be another way but she was most comfortable with this path and she sure didn't want to risk getting lost in the castle. It was huge.

As she continued to walk down the familiar path, she kept on thinking if it would be better to just go back. Would chickening out be easier than this? She was just so nervous about it. Oh she wished Alice was with her right now. It was always nice to have an extra opinion even if it meant your master's sister giving it to you.

Before she knew it, she was standing outside Edward's room. _Chicken out! Don't even think about it! Go back! Don't do it Bella! _The little voice in her head kept on screaming at her to turn back but it seemed like at that moment, her body disconnected with her brain as she opened the door and entered Edward's room.

~x~x~

"I want to see Jacob," Bella said.

Edward stood up and went to the bookshelf and continued staring at the book that Bella was reading the previous day. He knew that this would eventually happen but he didn't think it would be tonight or anytime soon. In a way, he was always avoiding the subject of Jacob. He didn't want to cause Bella unnecessary heartache.

"Edward? Are you okay?" Bella asked. As he turned around to look at her, she was standing behind him looking down and playing with her fingers. She was feeling just as awkward as he was just now. "Look, I'm sorry I bothered you. Forget I even said that. I'll leave now," she chattered before leaving the room.

As she was about to walk away from him, he seemed to be jolted from his daze and his hand instinctually went forward and grabbed her arm before pulling her to him. What he didn't expect was the electric flow that flowed through their contact and that he had used a little too much of his strength to pull her and she landed with her head hitting his chest. With his arms wrapped around her, they stared into each other's eyes and Edward got lost in the beautiful chocolate brown orbs.

It was about a second later before Bella pulled away and her face had turned beet red. Edward thought that her blush was adorable but he quickly silenced that thought. _She is nothing more than your companion. Don't forget that_. He kept on reminding himself that.

"Edward, I am so sorry," Bella apologized as she tried to remove the blush from her face by slapping her cheeks.

"There's nothing for you to apologize for. If anything, I'm the one at fault," Edward gulped. The proximity between them was still too close and he felt a little uncomfortable. They were like two opposing poles of a magnet now and no matter how much he tried, she kept pulling him in. With all his willpower, he pushed him legs to move a step and went to sit on the couch. "We'll discuss your wish but I would much prefer if we were sitting down on the couch." Edward smiled and Bella walked like a robot towards the couch and sat on the opposite end.

"Ok, so if I'm not wrong, you wish to see Jacob?" Edward asked. Bella simply nodded and looked at him. "May I know the reason why?"

"It's just that… well… I haven't seen him in like such a long time and I really miss him. I don't mind if it's just an hour or even five minutes, I want to see if he's okay and also for me to tell him that I'm doing well here with you and Alice and tell him to not worry about me," Bella chattered before taking a deep breath.

"So let me get this straight. You would like to see Jacob and maybe spend some time with him? Is that correct?" Edward asked. Bella nodded and looked at him with an innocent expression. Edward looked down and sighed. He didn't know why but he couldn't say no to her. Another thing that he didn't understand was this itching feeling he had towards Bella's fiancé. He never felt like this before and he didn't understand it and most of all, he didn't like it. "I shall grant you your request. Alice will bring you to the Tower to see Jacob tomorrow. I'll give you the whole day to spend with him and Alice will bring you back when you're ready to leave. Is that okay?"

Bella's eyes beamed with excitement. "Yes. That's very okay. Thank you so much Edward. Thank you." Bella smiled happily and Edward got that itching feeling back. Something about her current state of happiness bothered him. It could possibly be because he had little to do with him bringing her that joy but it was the thought of being able to see Jacob that brought her this euphoria.

"If that's all, I'll bring you to your room then," Edward said as he stood up.

"Oh it's okay. I think I can find my way back," Bella said.

"The lights are out Bella. I highly doubt you'll be able to find your way back. At eleven every night, the lights of the entire castle would be turned off."

"Oh, I didn't know that," that was all Bella said before he took her hand and led her out the room. The electricity flowed again but this time, Bella didn't let go as it was pitch dark and her human eyes were too weak to see through this darkness. Because of this, Edward had to work extra hard to push that inner animal in him away.

~x~x~

Bella woke up earlier than normal the following morning. She was just too excited about her day with Jacob that she couldn't sleep. After an excruciating close to three weeks of not seeing her fiancé, she missed him like crazy and just couldn't wait to spend some time with him.

After she did some stretching, she eagerly went to the bathroom to take her shower without Alice having to pull her out of bed for once during her stay in the castle. She made sure to lather rinse and repeat. She wanted to be in the very best form for this special day.

When she went out of the bathroom, her clothes were already laid on the bed. What was strange was the black cloak that was placed beside her light blue blouse and dark jeans. It was long that it would probably fall to her ankles and it didn't seem to be made of cotton as it was a little shiny. Maybe it was coated with something but when Bella went to touch the material, it was smooth and soft. It didn't feel hard or stiff as she expected it to be. Shrugging her shoulders, she quickly put on the blouse and jeans that Alice had prepared for her.

The moment Bella finished buttoning her jeans and fastening her belt, Alice came bouncing into the room. "Good morning Bella!" she cheered as she gave Bella a hug. "Okay, we've got lots of things to do today. Edward has already briefed me on what to do. I'll be the one bringing you to the Tower as Edward has some things to do. Anyways… Edward will run through everything after breakfast so c'mon c'mon! We've got so much to do and so little time!" Alice chattered as she left the room dragging Bella along.

They soon arrived at the dining room and had a quick breakfast of cereal with milk and fruits with Edward. Afterwards, Edward brought Bella to his room to brief her on what was going to happen next.

"Okay, so in order to get to the Tower, you'll need to leave the castle and that would mean leaving you vulnerable to the Shadows," Edward said and Bella froze. She clearly remembered that horrifying near death experience she had with the Shadows. "You'll be safe as long as you listen to Alice. She'll be the one bringing you to the Tower. I would bring you myself but there are things that I need to do here. You'll be perfectly safe if you do exactly as she says. Don't hesitate for even a minute. If she tells you to run and leave her, do it and don't look back. Is that clear?" Edward asked and Bella nodded.

After that, Edward asked if Bella wanted to bring anything on her visit to Jacob and she said she would like to bring some books from the library. So, he went and grabbed a small backpack from his closet and followed her out the room and to the library.

There, Bella picked a few random titles that she found interesting and placed it inside the backpack. After that, Edward brought her back to her room and grabbed the cloak before bringing her to the front gates. He gently draped her cloak over her leaving the hood on her back. As he did that, Alice came over and she also had a backpack on her back and she was also wearing a cloak with the hood over her head.

"Ready?" Alice asked and Bella took a deep breath before nodding her head. "I've prepared lunch for you and Jacob. So this is what's going to happen, I'll bring you to the Tower and to where Jacob is located. You'll have until dinner to spend time with him. I'll be waiting for you outside to keep you safe. Got it?"

Bella nodded eagerly. "Okay. Lunch, time with him and we leave at dinner time. Got it."

"Oh and one more thing Bella. I'm sure Edward has told you to listen to me so I'm going to tell you what's going to happen once we step outside the gates. Once outside, we won't be protected by the shield around the castle so if we were to be attacked by Shadows, we'll have to defend ourselves. Because of this, I want you to stay as close to me as possible and to always have your cloak on. This cloak will be your protector for the whole trip. The dark color makes it blend well with the surroundings making it more difficult for us to be spotted. In addition to that, it has a special coating around it so it will sparkle when light is shone upon it just like a vampire." Alice quickly reached into her pocket and took out a few gems. They looked like diamonds but were of different colors. Some were blue, some red and some green. "These gems are able to give off a very bright light that can destroy Shadows but the light they emit doesn't last long so we'll only use them during emergencies. When I tell you to close your eyes I want you to do exactly as I say alright?" Bella quickly nodded and placed her hands on Alice's and Alice smiled. "I promise I'll keep you safe but you'll have to trust me."

"I trust you and thank you for everything Alice," Bella said and gave Alice a hug before she turned to face Edward. He looked clearly worried about everything. She reached out and took his hands in hers and looked at his face. "Thank you for letting me do this," she smiled.

He smiled back at her and took her hood of her cloak and pulled it over her head. "Be safe Bella," he said and with those words, the two ladies stepped out of the castle barrier and towards the Tower.

**And they're off to the Tower! Yeah! I promise a Jacob chapter next. *Pinky promise***

**On a lighter note, I watched Vampires Suck on Thursday and I loved it but it still couldn't beat Eclipse which I watched on Monday. Oh and Happy Belated Birthday Bella! **

**Our good friends the Shadows would be making a little appearance for the next chapter if you would like to know. But don't worry; no blood will be spilled. It'll be too cruel and I'm sure everyone would like to see a little Jacob right? He's lonely in the Tower. Don't worry Jacob; you're going to get a whole afternoon with your lovely Bella soon!**

**So that's about all, do leave a review as reviews make my heart melt as much as Edward not wanting Bella to go and pulling her to his chest! Heh~**

**Question for this chapter: What are some of your favorite books other than Twilight?**

***Hint* Bella brought some books over to the Tower and I have no idea what book titles to include. Do help me out! **

**And I'm off to dinner with my cousins who just loves to play Pokemon on my Nintendo DS. Bye bye~**

**Lil Vamp Girl**


	10. Lazy Sunday

**Sorry for the long wait! I was so caught up with watching Glee and this new local Chinese drama that I in a way didn't write for two days. Really sorry. The Jacob part was a little hard to write but I hope I didn't disappoint. I'm sorry Jacob. I love you but I love Edward more. Oh and this chapter's the longest I've written so far for this story.**

**Robsten Lover 223**** – Sorry but I didn't include your book recommendation in the chapter! But I went to look it up on wiki and it looks really good~ I'll try to read it when I have the time! Many thanks! **

**Many thanks to those who reviewed! Your reviews make me smile as much as the new Katy Perry video with Elmo. It's so cute! You guys rock! Enjoy the chapter!**

The streets of the outside of the castle seemed different from the last time Bella walked through it. Maybe it was because, this time, she had someone with her. Maybe it was because this time she knew she was well prepared and protected. Maybe it was because this time, she wasn't trying to escape. Or maybe it was just because she had a rough idea of what to expect this time round.

As much as she prayed they wouldn't come in contact with the Shadows, Alice said it was pretty difficult. The Shadows are blood thirsty and when they aren't fed, their senses are amplified. A group has probably already caught their scents and is already trying to locate them. Bella shuddered at the thought and clung closer to Alice.

As she looked down, Alice had already taken prepared some gems and were clutching onto them tightly. Her senses were sharper than Bella's so she must have already sensed something. Instinctually, she clung closer to her bodyguard. Alice sensed Bella's anxiety so she tried to soothe her by stroking her hair a little. "Don't worry Bella. We're well prepared. These gems will protect us if any Shadows attack us. I have more than enough to even destroy the largest clan so don't worry okay? You'll be safe."

Bella nodded and tried to relax a little as she loosened her grip on Alice's arm. "I'm curious. How do you activate these gems?" Bella asked as she tried to distract herself from the possible attack from the Shadows.

Alice smiled and said, "These gems can only be activated by vampire blood."

Bella blinked a few times before she realized something. From what she knew from Edward, vampires don't have blood. "But vampires don't have blood," she whispered. They had to be as quiet as possible but the silence was just too nerve wrecking and made Bella panic even more.

"But we have blood. Hybrids have vampire blood. You see Bella, my father created these gems to protect us against the Shadows. You see, a vampire can well take on a Shadow easily but Shadows only attack things with blood. So, when we were born, my father created these gems specifically to protect us and to also give us the ability to protect our mother," Alice explained and for a second, there was so much sadness in her eyes it reminded Bella of the time she asked Edward about his parents.

"Ability to protect your mother?" Bella asked and Alice nodded. "Then why not just use human blood to activate the gems. Wouldn't it be easier for you and your mother?"

"My father did consider that option. It would definitely be safer for my mother but you see Bella, there was a war between vampires and humans at that time. If humans learnt about these weapons, they are sure to be abuse the gems and vampires would be in danger. They can be easily spotted and…" Before Alice could continue, her ears twitched a little and she could hear something approaching them. She quickly flung Bella to her back. The swiftness of her push nearly made Bella topple onto the ground.

Before Bella could ask Alice if the Shadows were near, an eerie presence hit her and they were suddenly surrounded by at least a dozen Shadows. Everywhere she looked, she was surrounded. This group seemed bigger as compared to the previous group that attacked her and they seem to work better as a team. There was no hesitation within this group, no sign of one of them wanting to attack each other. This must be one of the older and more experienced groups that Edward told her about. The group that attacked her before were amateurs but not this one. Realizing this made Bella shiver even more with fear.

"Bella, I want you to listen to me as closely as possible," Alice whispered as she placed some gems in Bella's hand. "First, keep your cloak on. When I tell you to close your eyes, hold onto the hood tightly and cover your face with it and don't let go. Next, if anything touches you, I want you to cut yourself and drip your blood on the gems," Alice instructed as she passed a few gems to Bella.

Bella's eyes widened in shock. Had Alice just told her to drip her blood on the gems? But Bella was human, she didn't have vampire blood. "But Alice, I thought you said only vampire blood can activate these gems. I don't have vampire blood in me!" Bella chattered, the panic clear in her voice.

"Just do as I say. Your blood will activate the gems," Alice shouted and the next minute, Bella was pushed aside as one of the Shadows attacked them. This time, Bella did fall but her hands were able to lessen the impact of her fall.

When she turned to see what was going on, Alice was in a fierce fight with the Shadows. She had managed to kick one aside but another came from behind and grabbed her. "Alice!" Bella shouted as she scrambled up and ran towards Alice.

"Don't come anywhere near me Bella! Go away!" Alice commanded. Bella stopped dead in her tracks and watched the scene unfold before her. She did want to help in any way she could but then, she remembered Edward's words. _You'll be perfectly safe if you do exactly as she says. Don't hesitate for even a minute. If she tells you to run and leave her, do it and don't look back. _She quickly noticed that her hood had fallen as she fell and she quickly pulled it back up and held onto it tightly.

It was a moment later that Alice tossed the Shadow aside and Bella moved away as its body was thrown towards her. It quickly recovered and went to grab Bella. Bella screamed and at that moment, she completely forgot everything that she was supposed to do. Adrenaline flowed through her as she tried to run but the Shadow's hold on her was too strong.

"Bella!" Alice shouted as she kicked another Shadow that was coming her way. Quickly, she scratched her arm with her nail like what Edward did before. Blood flowed out and the Shadow that was about to bite Bella froze and stared at Alice. "Close your eyes!" Alice shouted and Bella glued her eyelids together.

It was a moment later that a strong light could be felt. Even with her eyes closed, the light was still so bright it was like she was staring directly at the sun and the intensity of the light made her head hurt. An ear piercing scream could be heard and before she knew it the vice grip around her shoulders was gone.

As the light slowly diminished, Bella opened her eyes and bright spots could be seen everywhere. As she shook her head, all the Shadows were gone and nothing was left. There was no dust, no ash no nothing to say that they were there before. In front of her, Alice stood, breathing heavily and her hands still gripping onto the gems tightly. They had lost their shine and were just dull looking. The blood on her arm had already dried off and the wound completely gone. Knowing that Alice was safe, her knees gave way on her and she collapsed on the ground.

_Bella? Bella! Don't worry, you're going to be okay. _These were the last words she heard before she was swallowed into the darkness.

~x~x~

"Bella, Bella wake up. You're safe now," Bella heard Alice whisper. Slowly, she opened her eyes and Alice breathed a sigh of relief.

Blinking a few times, reality finally caught up to her and she shot up from where she was. She remembered the attack, the Shadow holding onto her and her almost getting bitten. "Alice, Alice," she said in a panic and Alice quickly took her hand and tried to calm her down. "Where are we? Did the Shadows get us?" she asked as she was sure she was hyperventilating at that point.

"Bella Bella. It's okay. They're gone. You're safe now. We're in the Tower. The Shadows can't get us here," Alice continued soothing her as she rubbed her back. Alice's words started to make sense after awhile and she soon managed to calm down. "Yes, we're safe. You don't have to be afraid."

Bella took a deep breath before she was able to speak. "Are you hurt?" she asked and Alice shook her head. She breathed a sigh of relief. "We're in the Tower? Where's Jacob?" she asked a little too enthusiastically.

"He's upstairs. You'll go when I know you're ready and feeling fine. I highly doubt Jacob would like to see you in this panicked state," Alice said as she continued rubbing Bella's back.

Bella took a few more deep breaths and soon, color returned to her cheeks and Alice stopped rubbing her back. "I'm ready. Can I go see him now?" she asked.

Alice smiled and handed her a container. Bella looked at her confused and Alice gave her a smile that stretched across her face. "It's your lunch dear Bella. Don't tell me you no longer need to eat," Alice teased and Bella laughed. She quickly took the container and stood up and headed up the stairs. "Jacob is on the highest floor. I'll be waiting here so if there's anything you need, just come down and you'll find me. I'll come up at around dinner time to bring you back to the castle okay?"

Bella nodded and started climbing the seemingly never ending staircase.

The climb up the stairs can only be described as tiring. It was a good thing Bella was pretty fit or she would have just given up when she was halfway through. When she finally reached the highest level, there was a door. After taking her time to arrange her hair, straighten her clothes and checking her breath, she took a deep breath before opening it. Though she knew Jacob couldn't really care less about how she looked, she still felt a little self conscious after not seeing him for close to three weeks.

As the door to Jacob's cell opened, Bella was absolutely shocked. It was completely different from the cell the two of them had been placed at the first time she woke up in the Underground. This cell that Jacob was being held in looked more like an apartment than a prison cell. Sure there was no kitchen but there was a couch, a small TV, some books on the bookshelf. Then there was a bathroom that looked reasonably clean and there was a small bed at the corner of the room. Jacob was properly cared for and Bella felt relieved.

As she scanned the room, Jacob was lying on the couch with his feet on one end and his head on a cushion on the other end and he just seemed to be staring into space. All his wounds were already healed and he seemed as good as new. Well, that would be an understatement. He looked much healthier as compared to the last time she saw him. Clearly Alice had been feeding him well.

Jacob didn't turn around when the door opened so Bella coughed a little. "Look here lil lady, I don't know what your problem is but you know what I want. I want to see Bella and if you're not going to grant me that, then why not just leave the food on the table and leave this god damn place you have put me in and give me some peace," he replied not once even bothering to leave his position on the couch.

"Well hello there Jacob," Bella giggled and Jacob nearly rolled down the couch when he heard her voice. He quickly turned around and when he saw Bella, a huge grin spread across his face. "I faced the dangers of the outside and you want me to leave? Well fine then," Bella teased as she pretended like she was about to turn and walk out the door.

"Well hell no," Jacob shouted as he ran forward, grabbed Bella and spun her in circles. When he put her down, Jacob bent down and kissed her passionately and Bella hadn't felt so happy in awhile. As their lips slowly parted, Jacob continued to stare into her eyes as his thumb rubbed her cheek. "The witch twins finally let you out?" Jacob asked and Bella couldn't help but laugh on the term that Jacob had used on Edward and Alice.

"First, they're not twins Jake. Second, I wasn't let out, I was granted permission to see you from my master," Bella sighed. When Jacob mentioned freedom, she suddenly remembered that she was no longer a free person. She hadn't thought about it for the past few weeks as time spent with Edward and Alice never felt like a prison sentence.

"What? Master?" Jacob asked. "How the hell did you get a master? I wasn't out that long to miss something so important!" Jacob was getting tense and there was nothing worse than an angry Jacob. Bella needed him to see things in perspective and not want to hit someone or something in a burst of rage. Time with him was precious and she didn't want to waste it trying to calm her hot headed fiancé.

"I think this conversation is more suitable over lunch?" Bella said as she lifted up the container that Alice had given her earlier which contained their lunches.

Jacob quietly nodded and brought Bella to the couch. They got comfortable and started munching down on the sandwiches that Alice had prepared for them. When Bella sensed that Jacob was relatively calm, she started to explain to him what happened. She explained how she became a companion and how she tried to escape only to realize that escape was impossible in the Underground due to the threat of the Shadows. She explained that she's doing fine and that they are treating her well and that Edward was kind enough to grant Bella permission visit Jacob today.

"Bells, you are so stupid. You should have just ignored me and left. Why would you ever decide to become that king's pet?" Jacob asked.

"It's either I become his companion or you die Jake. I couldn't just sit there and let you die knowing that I could have done something about it…" Bella whispered as she bit her lip. When she looked up, Jacob was pinching the bridge of his nose and his eyes were closed. "I just love you too much, that's all."

Jacob went forward and pulled her into his arms. Bella snuggled closer to Jacob and took in his scent. "This feels nice. I missed you."

"I missed you too," he replied as he continued rubbing her arm and laid his cheek on her head.

"Let's not talk about this anymore okay? I only have so little time with you I don't want to waste any of it arguing…"

Jacob sighed and nodded. "Fine. What do you want to do? Your choice."

Bella smiled, sat up and went to the bag Edward had loaned her. Jacob looked at her confused as she took out a book she had taken from the library. "I brought some books from the library Edward gave me. So I thought we could have a lazy Sunday like we used to have when we were in school?"

Jacob gave Bella her favorite smile and nodded. "Whatever makes you happy Mrs Black," he said and Bella laughed along with him. No one had called her that in awhile and she had to admit that she missed it terribly. Sure there was no way she was going to be marrying Jacob but the ceremony was only a formality. They already had forever with each other, the ceremony was just to make it more official.

Jacob got into his normal position on lazy Sundays where he would lie on the couch. Bella soon joined him and sat in between his legs before lying down and resting her head on his chest. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, she opened the book and they started reading.

Lazy Sundays used to be a ritual for Bella and Jacob when they were in school. It started way before they started dating. It was a day of the week with no rules but one and that would be to not worry about school or work or anything else and just have a day to relax and enjoy each other's company.

Before they started dating, they would flip a coin and see whose house to go to. If heads, they would head to Bella's and just read and talk. If tails, they would do something crazy down at La Push. Once, they went cliff diving and even though Bella was terrified at first, Jacob held her hand the whole way down and at the end, Bella wanted to do it over and over again. She just loved the adrenaline rush that's she experienced when she jumped down. But boy did they get into trouble when their parents found out.

After they started dating during senior year in high school, they stopped with the coin toss ritual and just spent every lazy Sunday at Bella's house cuddled up and enjoyed a book. Both of them just enjoyed being cuddled up with each other you see. The book they were reading together could be boring as hell and they would still enjoy it.

They continued this ritual through college and lazy Sundays only became a thing of the past after they started working. With work and having to plan for the wedding, they just couldn't afford any free time to just enjoy a day of complete relaxation. They were quite sad about it but there was nothing they could do. Still, they tried their very best to spend every Sunday afternoon trying to do something relaxing and be with each other. But even those afternoons were few and far.

As they cuddled and enjoyed their book, time just flew by and before they knew it, there was a light knock on the door and they were woken from the happy cloud they had created around themselves. Bella called for the person to come in and Alice poked her head through the door and smiled.

"I'm sorry for bothering but it's about time we leave Bella. Its dinner time," Alice said and Bella sighed and slowly stood up from her comfortable position with Jacob. She quietly lifted her finger to ask Alice if she could have a minute to say goodbye and Alice nodded. Alice quietly entered the room and left Jacob's dinner tray on the little coffee table.

Jacob watched as Bella sat down and put her hands on his face. As she looked at his confused face, she felt sad that their time is about over and the thing that made a tear escape her eye was that she didn't know when she would see him again. Jacob looked at her even more confused than before and she shook her head and wiped her eyes dry.

"I need to leave now Jake. Our time's up."

Realization hit Jacob and he quickly shook his head. "No! Stay. Please. Just a little while later," he pleaded. Bella quickly shook her head as she couldn't compose herself to say no to him. "Please Bella. At least till we finish dinner," Jacob continued to plead.

Bella smiled and kissed him before she walked to the door without answering his plea. As she went out, she saw Alice sitting on a little stool, waiting for her patiently. As Alice looked up at her face, she knew immediately what Bella wanted to ask and she nodded her head. "Just don't take too long okay?" she said and Bella gave her a quick hug.

Bella happily walked back into the room and Jacob couldn't help but smile knowing he had more time with his girl. They shared the dinner that Alice had prepared for him but Bella spent most of the time feeding Jacob and only eating a couple of mouths when Jacob insisted. Through the meal, they chatted about their high school days and couldn't help but laugh.

They laughed that they had always been in the same class since grade school and that they were so inseparable that some went to ask them if they were secretly dating. Jacob snorted when Bella said that she told every girl that Jacob was single and that they were not dating. You see, Jacob always had a crush on Bella so even though he was single, he was taken emotionally. They couldn't stop laughing when they chatted about how jealous Jacob got when Mike Newton asked Bella out and Bella agreed. He literally went out with one of the dumb blondes in the school just to make Bella jealous though that ended quite terribly. In fact, both of their dates ended quite terribly and Bella was so mad at Jacob she refused to talk to him for a week. Jacob soon apologized and confessed his feelings to Bella and they started dating soon after.

As Jacob finished his dinner, they knew it was time for them to part. Though she couldn't bear it in her to say goodbye, Bella knew she had to go back. Alice was more than kind to allow her to stay longer. They had made a promise and Bella broke it. She didn't want to test her luck. The two kissed before Bella left the room to a waiting Alice.

Alice was sitting on the stool as before and gave Bella a small smile. "I'm ready to go. Sorry to keep you waiting," Bella said and Alice bounced up and handed Bella her cloak.

The journey back to the castle was uneventful and Bella thanked her lucky stars. No Shadows attacked them but her heart kept on pounding in her chest as they made their way through the lonely streets to the castle. The minute they stepped through the castle gates and into the protection of the shield, Bella couldn't help but sigh in relief. She and Alice made it back safe and sound and no one was hurt.

Alice brought Bella back to her room and brought out a pair of pajamas from her closet for her to change into. Bella was confused but when she looked at the clock, she realized that they took longer than she thought to return to the castle. Alice explained that they had taken a longer route back instead of the one they took in the morning as she had used more gems than expected when they encountered their shadowy friends.

After they hugged and Bella thanked her, Alice excused her for the night. It had been a long day and they were both exhausted. Bella was all hot and sticky so she decided to go and have a long shower. As the warm water cascaded down her tired body, she suddenly remembered her promise to Edward.

_Shit_. She couldn't help but curse herself for forgetting. Edward said he would be waiting to have dinner with her and she had in a way stood him up. A pang of guilt washed through her and she quickly scrubbed herself clean and got changed into her pajamas before running to the dining room.

She arrived in record time and ran to her seat only to find no Edward but a plate of food with a lid on it and a note next to it. She lifted the lid up and found a plate of spaghetti in cream sauce with some fried chicken. Though the food looked cold, it still looked delicious. Next to the plate of food was a note. Biting her lower lip, she took the note and read it.

_Bella,_

_I wasn't sure when you were coming back so I ate first. I hope you don't mind._

_The plate on the table's yours and I hope you like it. I haven't really cooked in awhile so I hope it suites your appetite._

_Enjoy and I'll see you tomorrow morning._

_Edward_

She was guilty beyond words after reading the note. He made such a huge effort to cook for her and she forgot all about him. She really didn't know how to make things better so she decided to eat the food he cooked for her. Why did she do it? One, she didn't want all his effort to go down the drain and two, she was starving. She didn't eat much when she was in the Tower with Jacob and they only had sandwiches for lunch so her tummy was practically empty by now.

After she finished, she quickly went to Edward's room to apologize. When she was at the door, she mechanically raised her hand to the door knob and held it there. She was nervous and she was afraid that Edward would be angry. She would be hell bent furious if anyone did what she did to him.

With her hands shaking, she slowly opened the door to see that Edward was not in his bedroom. She thought he could be in his study like the night before so she walked over but she still couldn't find him. As she was walked out the study room and to his bedroom, the door to the bathroom opened and Edward came out draped only in a towel and was towel drying his hair.

Her immediate reaction was her blush. Edward had nothing on but a towel. She had not seen him this naked since that day where she _kissed _him and that was not a time she would like to remember. She couldn't help but admire his perfectly sculpted body. The water that dripped down his arms and chest only made her want to lick her lips but she reigned in the inner animal in her before she could do anything she knew she would regret.

Seeing her standing at the door to his study and staring at him, Edward looked… confused. "Bella? What brings you here?" he asked. It was only then that he realized his predicament that he quickly pulled up a pair of sweatpants as Bella turned around to give him some privacy. "You can turn around now," he said after awhile.

Bella slowly turned with her eyes still closed and when she opened them, she couldn't help but wonder why Edward looked a little smug? It must have been her facial expression, she told herself. "I'm sorry to intrude but I wanted to apologize," she said as she looked down like she was a little girl caught red handed by her mother for doing something bad.

"Apologize? Apologize for what?" Edward asked as he motioned for her to sit on his bed. Bella quietly walked over and sat on the foot of his bed and took one of his pillows and hugged it. She needed to hug something and his pillow was the closest thing she could find. Edward joined her and sat next to her and waited for her to answer.

"I came to apologize for today. I'm sorry for forgetting about dinner. It's just that I was so caught up with spending time with Jacob and all…" she said as she hugged the pillow even closer. She regretted it immediately as Edward's scent penetrated her senses but she didn't want to let it go.

"It's okay. I'm not angry at you. There's nothing to apologize for, it's perfectly understandable to want to spend as much time as you can with the one you love. I would do the same if I was in your shoes," Edward replied.

Bella turned around to look at him and smiled. Edward's kindness was beyond words and she couldn't stop thanking him. They soon chatted for awhile about how her day with Jacob went. Edward asked if Jacob was doing well and Bella said yes and couldn't stop thanking him for the help he's given to Jacob.

After awhile, Bella yawned so Edward took it as a sign that she was tired and he brought her back to her room. It was already midnight and she had a long day. When she arrived at her room, Bella thanked Edward again and before she could tell what was going on, she hugged him. He was still without a shirt but she was too tired to really care. Edward hugged her back and made sure she was properly tucked into bed before saying goodnight and leaving her room.

It took only two minutes before Bella fell into a peaceful slumber.

~x~x~

"He nearly got us today. That Shadow attack was not an ordinary Shadow attack. Their numbers were by far larger than normal and they were more coordinated than any Shadow clan I've encountered," Alice said as she walked into Edward's study. He was watching something on the fountain and he had a worry expression on his face. "The attacked was planned. He knew we were going to leave the castle."

"We'll have to be more careful next time around. He must not get her," Edward hissed as he turned and faced Alice. "We must not let him win Alice. No matter what, he cannot win."

Alice nodded and she took a note from her pocket and handed it to him. He looked at her confused. "This was left when I activated the gems and the Shadows were destroyed. Don't worry, Bella didn't see it. She fainted the moment the Shadows were destroyed."

He quickly took it and read the contents before crushing it and throwing it into the water where it exploded into blue flames and became nothing but ash.

_It looks like our little Edward's getting careless. You better be more careful the next time round. It won't be as easy as today. _

_I'll get her sooner or later. _

_She's mine._

_B_

**Sigh… I want a lazy Sunday with Jacob and walk in on an almost naked Edward too! Bella, you are one lucky girl! And Edward cooked for you! Cooked. Okay LVG, calm down…**

***Takes deep breaths***

**Nothing much that I want to say but I would like to make one special request. Would it be okay if I ask for 5 reviews for every chapter? I got 5 each for Questions and Gift but only 4 for Preparations. I'm a little sad that the reviews dropped but on the bright side, the number of hits increased. The previous chapter got 700 hundred hits in a day! It improved by a hundred! *crosses fingers and hopes for an improvement.* **

**Do leave me a review as reviews warm my heart as much as sitting on Edward's bed and hugging his pillow. Oh I want that pillow so bad! Heh~**

**Question for the chapter: What's your favorite Christmas memory?**

**Remember, all questions I ask will affect the story directly or indirectly so do leave me a review if you would like to share!**

**Oh and the next chapter will be a flashback chapter. That should be fun to write. We're going back in time to the time Edward first met Bella! *That should keep you on the edge of your seats.* Hehe, I know I'm evil.**

**Thanks again and 5 reviews if it's possible~ *Blush***

**Lil Vamp Girl**


	11. Mistake

**And I'm back with a new chapter! You can thank my little care bear for this as she stayed up with me till midnight to finish the bulk of this chapter last night as we watched an episode of **_**Glee**_**. Puck is *sigh…* Okay, I've gone mad…**

**This is a little treat for those who like the diary parts. Lots of diary writing in the first part and after that, it's the magical water fountain… Okay I seriously need to think of a nicer name for it. *Chuckles***

**Oh yeah, please do note that I am still a teen so I might have gotten some information wrong but I do apologize in advance and would highly appreciate it if you corrected me. Thanks.**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter and million thanks to those who reviewed. You people make me so happy when I see that you enjoy reading a little bit of my overactive imagination! You guys rock!**

_It looks like our little Edward's getting careless. You better be more careful the next time round. It won't be as easy as today. _

_I'll get her sooner or later. _

_She's mine._

_B_

The piece of paper that held the wretched note had burnt to nothing. Not even its ash was left but the message that was written on it was still as clear as day in Edward's mind. _Why did I get so careless? I brought this on her. I should have just let her die on that day._ He couldn't stop cursing himself for what he did. Because of him, Bella's life has become nothing but difficult. Because of him, she couldn't get married, have babies and lead a normal human life. Because of him, Bella's no longer like anyone else.

As he walked over to his study, he pushed all the papers and books on the table to the ground in one quick shove as he grabbed his journal and started writing down and a messy scrawl of words started appearing on the pages of the book.

_Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! I should have been more careful at that time. I should have been more careful yesterday. I shouldn't have done anything at all at that time. I should have just left the scene. I shouldn't have stalked her around after I met her at that convenience store. Hell, I should have just joined Alice at the club. I wouldn't have met her and all this wouldn't be happening. She would not have to be held here against her will and beg me just to see her beloved. She could have a normal human life. She could get married, work, have kids and grow old just like any normal person. But the moment I entered her life, the moment she got caught inside this never ending war, her life changed forever._

_But what's done is done. It can never be changed. If I could, I would have my family back. My mother would probably be with me and we would be reading a book at the fireplace sipping hot cocoa. Maybe I would have found someone like how Emmett found Rose. My father would be the one running this place instead of me. It wouldn't be this forgotten piece of wasteland. Once, the Underground was a place of riches and beauty. Now, it is nothing but a dark place with nothing but evil lurking around. You might ask why not just leave. Well, even with all these painful memories this place has for us, Alice and I refuse to leave. It is and will forever be our home – our only home. Even as the memories continue to haunt us, it's better than to never have right? We were so happy then, our family was perfect and we had forever to be together._

_He almost got her yesterday. That family just wouldn't let us go. We've gone hundreds of years of not hearing about them and suddenly, one of theirs comes up and history repeats itself. Only this time, it is only Alice and I. And this time, two innocent humans have been dragged into this. I am sure day and night; Bella and Jacob continue to question why they have been brought here. Why them?_

_I can't tell her. Even though I know it would make it easier for everyone if I just told her, I can't. And I can't put her and Jacob together. They are bound to escape and that is exactly what he wants them to do, to be unguarded and vulnerable. It would be too easy for him if that happened._

_He sent a clan yesterday to get her. He knew his attempt would fail but he still sent them. He was testing us. Alice managed to defeat them but she had leaked out something. She had hinted that Bella's blood could activate the gems. I don't want Bella to know. I don't want her to know what I've done to her to save her life. _

_I swore I would never do it for any human but when I saw her unconscious, bleeding to death, I did the unthinkable. And because of what I did, her life's course has been forever altered by me. And now, it is my duty to protect her. I brought this on her and I will do everything I can to make her safe again. I owe her this much._

_Alice didn't want to risk getting attacked again. Though she had enough gems to destroy a huge clan, she couldn't risk it. Bella almost got killed yesterday. A Shadow nearly bit her and the Shadow that almost bit her was no ordinary one. It recovered so quickly. It moved so fast that Alice had no choice but to activate the gems before Bella could shield herself properly._

_I made her wear the cloak for a reason. It's been coated with the vampire's chemical that protects them from the sun. It reflects light better than any mirror in the world. The intensity of the light from the gems would increase tremendously making it even more effective in destroying Shadows. But Bella didn't have time to pull the hood over her head to cover her eyes and protect herself. And because she was wearing the cloak, the light got intensified around her. The energy alone was too much for her to take. So much so that she collapsed. For a normal human, it would have probably kiledl them or at the least leave them blind but Bella's no ordinary human._

~x~x~

_Dear diary,_

_Have you ever had any near death experiences? Experiences that made you think about how you've lived your life so far? Remembering everything that happened throughout your life, all the disappointments, all the successes, all the joy? Have you ever had that feeling where all your memories just come flashing back and you don't ever want to lose them and just write them down somewhere?_

_Today's different. I woke up later than usual in the morning. Alice didn't walk in like usual to greet me and when I came out of the bathroom, my clothes for the day were as per usual laid on the bed but Alice wasn't there and even after fifteen minutes, she didn't come in. There was no one in the dining room either when I went in. All I saw was a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and potatoes and a little note from Edward to tell me that we wouldn't be doing anything for the day and that he had some things he had to do so he couldn't keep me company. _

_It feels weird, odd even. Maybe I was so used to seeing the smiling faces of my master and his sister every morning that one tiny change threw me out of balance. Maybe it's because I expected so much that one change which was so unexpected disappointed me? I don't know… _

_Sorry I didn't get to write yesterday. It was a long day and when I came back, I was so exhausted I just collapsed on the bed. _

_I got attacked yesterday. A Shadow nearly bit me but Alice managed to activate the gems in time. Those gems are really something. That energy that they produced, it was so intense, so intense to the point of pain. I thought I would have gone blind even with my eyes closed tightly but I was fine in the end. When I woke up, I was as good as new. Well, a little shaken but alright. No cuts, no bruises, no headache that hurt so much that I just wanted to hit my head on the wall to numb it._

_But the strangest thing was when during the attack, Alice told me to drip my blood on the gems if anything touched me. She said my blood's able to activate the gems but last time I checked; I was a hundred percent human. I'm not a hybrid like Edward or Alice. Both my parents are human so how in the world is it possible for me to be part vampire? Impossible._

_She didn't say those words in a moment of panic. She looked so sure that my blood would activate the gems. Forget it, Alice must have made a mistake. Even though she might have looked certain or anything, she has this ability to look calm even when the situation was really really bad. Either that or I was just hallucinating. The adrenaline was rushing through my body at that time and it could have well played with my mind a little._

_On a lighter note, I saw Jacob and god it felt so good to be called Mrs Black. I haven't been called that in ages but the best part – the highlight of yesterday – was being able to see him again and also being able to see him smile, to hear him say that he loves me, to feel him touch me, to take in his scent and just being with him. The taste of reunion still burns within me and even though I'm not sure when I'll be able to see him again, I know the next time would like how it felt yesterday or maybe even better, even more intense._

_I know I might sound like some kind of two timing bitch but I'm not. I admit that there is something between me and Edward. I can't deny the electricity that flows through my body when he touches me and I can't deny the pull his body has on me but I love Jacob. It has always been Jacob and it will always be him. Edward's my master, not my lover and I will not respond to the pull his body has on me. The kiss we shared so long ago will just be a distant memory. It's only fair. I can't reciprocate his feelings if he has any in the first place. I highly doubt it. We're friends, best friends and that's all it'll ever be._

_Time to head over to the library and get a book! Talk to you next time._

_Bella _

~x~x~

As Edward stared into the watery screen, he couldn't help but smile. He was watching Bella writing on her journal and even though he chided himself for his stalker ways, he couldn't stop. The way she would smile at some parts as she wrote, how serious she looked at some point reminded him why he took such a huge interest in her in the first place.

Why he took such a huge interest in her? It's not just because of the way she writes, the way she acts or the way she calls his name. It's everything. She reminds him of someone whom he misses terribly. It's not just her physical appearance, it was also the way she acted, the way she never saw him as a monster but a person. It reminded him so much of that person whom he loved so much but could not protect.

Maybe that's why he feels so obligated to protect Bella. Not only because of the mistake he made but deep down, maybe, he felt if he could protect Bella, he could in a way make amends to the wrong he's done. Though Alice reminds him time and again that he's not to blame for what happened to _her_, he continues blaming himself for getting sick and being weak.

Edward shook his head before waving over the water and the image of Bella writing on her journal disappeared. "Show me the day I met her," Edward whispered and the water started glowing before him and images started to appear.

X-X-X

"I'm bored…" Alice whined as she draped her arms around Edward as she leaned down and rested her head on his shoulder.

"And what do you want me to do?" Edward asked. He was at his study room doing some work. It had been awhile since the two siblings had gone out and since the stock market changed overnight, he was thinking of ways to make as little loss as possible.

Though he could just sell some of the royal jewels, he just couldn't bear it in him to sell them. They contained memories of his past and he didn't want some random stranger to own them or even touch them. Plus, with Alice's extra sense, they didn't really need to worry about money but it didn't mean he could slacken.

Edward continued to work on his papers and stuff and Alice pushed them away playfully. "I want to find some _companionship_. I'm so so so bored… Please Edward. Please, please please," Alice pleaded and she put on her most innocent expression with the big puppy dog eyes and pouty lips. She started pulling his arm like a little child who couldn't wait to go out with her parents.

Edward knew he wouldn't be able to win this little fight so he decided to just give Alice what she wanted. "Fine, we'll go later tonight. Go prepare the cloaks," he said and Alice left the room happily as she clapped and skipped.

Deciding that he had done all he needed for the day; he decided to go and take a shower and get ready for the night. Alice was sure to drag him to some random club and they would drink and attract some random stranger's attention. After that, they would part with their 'companions'. After they were done, they would cover up and meet at their assigned meeting spot and return home.

He never thought of what he was doing was wrong. He hated the humans with a passion. They had destroyed him so he didn't see the need to not drink from them. They seemed to like it and a lot. Some would even go to the extent of asking him to bite them again when his lips left their neck. He would never do it though, he would just leave. In a way, you could say that he had lost himself forever.

Human life meant nothing to him. His soul was forever frozen when the humans destroyed his family out of greed many centuries ago. He wasn't crave human blood today. He didn't want to act all nice with the humans. He didn't want them to touch him. All he wanted was to be in his room but Alice wanted to go and he couldn't just leave her alone.

It was too risky and even though he knew Alice was perfectly capable of protecting herself, he wouldn't risk it. Ever since a member of that damned family made an appearance again, Edward couldn't help but be more careful. _He _was harmless now but Edward was sure that _he's _only getting started and he didn't want to take any risks. When it came to his sister, Edward was just like the momma bear protecting her cubs. He would do anything to keep her safe.

Night soon came and they both went up to the above and into the streets of Seattle. There were many tunnels in the Underground that connected them to the above and Alice wanted to visit somewhere wet, somewhere rainy.

Alice couldn't wait to head to one of the clubs but Edward wasn't really up to it. Seeing his lack of enthusiasm to get some blood in his body, Alice told Edward to go to one of the local convenience stores and stock up on some ice cream. She didn't like forcing her brother to do something he didn't want to do and promised him she would be perfectly safe for a few hours. Reluctantly, he agreed but only after Alice promised to meet him at 1 AM.

So, they parted and Alice bounced to the club for some fun and Edward walked around the streets of Seattle with nowhere he really wanted to go. With his cloak still on, he walked and walked as he stared at the quiet streets.

When it was close to one, he walked to a nearby 7-11 and immediately went to the frozen foods section. The freezer was stocked and he decided to get two of every flavor he could get. Knowing Alice, she would finish them in one night.

Balancing the pints of ice cream, he walked over to the cash register and placed a hundred dollar bill on the counter before placing all the pints down. His hood was still on and he kept on looking down – not even caring to look at the pathetic human who was at the counter.

What surprised him was the chuckle he heard from the person at the counter. "Either you're holding a late night ice cream party or you have an ice cream obsession," she laughed as she continued checking the pints out one at a time. He looked up and his eyes bulged out. Brown hair tied in a ponytail with the most beautiful brown eyes that pierced through his cold persona and into his heart.

_Mom._

This girl, she looked so much like his mother. Sure his mother had a lighter shade of hair, and the resemblance wasn't really there, but she reminded him so much of his mother who hasn't been with him since he was a little boy. Edward couldn't say anything from the shock he was experiencing and he just stared.

She grinned at him as she continued doing her job. "You know too much ice cream at this time at night is bad for your tummy?" she joked.

Edward stood frozen. For a moment, it seemed like the planets had moved and his mother was standing right in front of him, chiding him for taking too much sweets. He quickly closed his eyes as he looked down and cleared his throat. "It's for my sister. She's addicted to ice cream," he mumbled.

"Well, don't let me interfere with your private affairs," she said as she looked up and noticed that Edward still had his hood up. She placed one of her hands on her hip as she looked at him. "It's really rude to hide your face when you're talking to someone," she said in a strict tone. Edward looked down and looked bashful like he just did something wrong and she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just kidding. You need to loosen up my friend," she said as she passed him his change. "It was nice meeting you," she continued and Edward quickly took the bags with his ice cream in it and exited the store.

As he walked to the meeting point, he couldn't stop thinking about the girl. He wanted to know her better. He wanted to know her name. He wanted to know all the little things about her like why someone so young was working so late at night. He wanted to know everything about her.

And that was when he started stalking her. He would observe her on the fountain. He soon learned that her name is Bella Swan and that she was a student in Northwestern. She was working as she was saving as much money as possible for her wedding to wed her high school sweetheart Jacob Black.

His obsession with her got so bad that he would go above and started watching her from afar. In a way, you could say he grew a little attached to her even though they've never _officially _met. He noticed that a lot of her little actions reminded him of his mother and that increased the draw she had on him. He wanted to stay away but he couldn't. Before he knew it, she had become a drug to him and he had become so addicted the withdrawal symptoms were something he couldn't just ignore and let it go away.

One night, when he went up, Alice followed him. She noticed a change in him. She could see a notable difference in him like he wasn't so cold anymore. He actually reacted to some of the things she did instead of just ignoring her. There was some life in him.

When he got caught by his sister, he couldn't help but tell her about his stalking. He refused to tell her why he was doing this though and no matter how much Alice tried to pry the answer out of him, he refused to tell her.

It was really sudden when he heard Bella scream from somewhere close by before a car screeched and crashed into something. Fearing something had happened to her, he quickly ran to where the sound came from with Alice following behind.

The sight that he caught paralyzed him. In the wrecked car was Bella, unconscious and her fiancé was next to her. She had it worse and she was bleeding profusely. The scent of the blood pulled Edward to take a taste but he quickly pushed that urge away.

It was at that moment he noticed that the blood was flowing down her head. She could die and the next moment, he was staring at his wrist and listening to the blood that flowed through his veins. He had to save her.

Alice saw the look in his eyes and she immediately sensed what her brother was going to do. He was about to do the unthinkable, the thing they swore they would never do. Quickly, she raised her hand and held onto her brother's arm tightly.

"Edward, what the hell are you thinking? We swore to never do it. Don't even think about it," she warned as she stared at him.

"I have to do it. She'll die!" he yelled.

"Humans die all the time," she reminded him and Edward froze. Yes, humans die all the time but why did he want to save this one. He didn't want to answer himself. "What difference does it make if this one dies? Humans mean nothing to us."

"She can't! I can't let her die Alice. I don't understand it myself but I can't let her die. I'm doing it." Alice heard the determination in his voice and saw that he was going to do _it _no matter what she said or did. So, she let go of his arm and Edward ran to the wrecked car.

He stared into her unconscious face as he used his nail to cut his wrist. Gently, he smeared his blood on the cut on her forehead and the blood stopped flowing down and the wound closed almost immediately. After that, he did the unthinkable. He bit into his arm and his teeth cut into his flesh. He flinched at the pain but quickly – fearing that the wound would heal – placed her lips on the wound and made her drink his blood. His wound soon closed and he ran away.

Hybrids had this exceptional healing ability that allows them to heal almost instantly. When they feed their blood to a human, the human too would get that healing ability. It still puzzles them how this is possible but when his father was still alive, they did some experiments. His brother would feed his mother with his blood and his mother would get the extraordinary healing. Any cut or bruise she got would heal almost instantly and this _gift – _as they liked to call it – will be with the human forever. It won't get passed out of their system. Further experimentation was not done as the war got even worse and his father had to worry about other stuff like protecting his family and his world.

When Edward got back to his room, the fountain edged on the wall of his study glowed bright red and he quickly ran to it. It was _him._

He was hiding behind in the shadows like he always did when he communicated with Edward through this method.

He let out an evil laugh before saying, "I saw what happened and trust me when I say I want her more than anything now. I'll get her. She's mine." And with those last words, the water returned to its original blue and communication with _him _ended.

Edward couldn't help but punch the wall as he recalled the words he told him. _He _saw everything! And Edward was so obsessed with the girl that he didn't even know he was being watched. How could he have been so careless? The girl's in danger now and Edward wants no needs to protect her. He doesn't know why but that annoying voice in his head is telling him to do so and he decided to listen to it.

_Always trust your gut Edward. It won't do you wrong. _Those were the words his mother once told him. Frustrated, he started to kick and throw anything in his path and this alerted Alice. She came into his room instantly.

"Did he just contact us?" Alice came running in with a worried look on her face. Edward silently nodded. "What does he want?"

"Her," he answered.

"Her? You mean the girl you gave blood to just now?"

Edward nodded. "You don't have to understand why I'm doing this but I want you to trust me. We need to protect her."

"When have I ever questioned why you do the things you do? Of course I will help you. She's important. I know it." Quietly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close. "It's going to be okay," she whispered and Edward nodded.

"Thank you," Edward whispered as he placed his head on hers.

**And now we know why Bella couldn't find any cuts or bruises on her when she got attacked~ And yes, I did use a little VD inside the story. Heh~ **

**Sorry for the late update. This is an important chapter and I had to make it perfect. And perfection usually comes with my writer's block… I had to redo this chapter like 3 times… **

**I'm getting my results tomorrow and I'm like really nervous. I'm like having an anxiety attack just thinking about it… *Screams into pillow* Really really hope I can get a good GPA! Wish me luck~**

**Okay, next chapter will be a little Christmas treat. I'll be skipping Thanksgiving as I don't celebrate it here in my country and I really don't want to mess it up by writing something wrong.**

**Oh and our little Mr. B will not be making an appearance any time soon. I had initially intended on making this a later chapter but I didn't want to keep everyone hanging there after that evil little note. So for now, forget about Edward giving Bella blood. Forget about who Mr. B is. Forget everything that has to do with Edward's past. I'll be doing some Edward and Bella getting closer and closer and closer before we dig into the histories of this place and Edward's past. All unanswered questions will be answered in the near future.**

**Oh and one thing that I want to clarify with the readers. Edward is NOT in love with Bella… yet. Hehe. There's still this huge sense of guilt and responsibility that he feels towards Bella and this stems from him missing his mother. That and also his so called 'guilt' for trying to save her life. I don't know why he feels this way. Don't ask me, I'm just the middlemen whose writing down this story. **

**I have officially lost it. Help me… *chuckles***

**Anyhooo, do leave me a review! Reviews are as lovely as Edward wanting to protect me! Opps, my bad. It's Edward wanting to protect Bella! Heh! *A girl can dream can't she?* **

**Question for this chapter: Presents for Bella? For our beloved King? For our bubbly and ice cream addict Alice?**

**Many thanks!**

**LVG**


	12. Christmas

**erika shoval**** – I put the story as M to be on the safe side but I might change it back to a T. The problem is that T is for those 9 and younger and I'm a little worried so I just put it as M.**

**** If you're looking for a very lemony fic, this is probably the wrong one. I'll be trying my hands at writing one lemon in the future but if you want something smutty and all that, this is definitely not the story for you.**

**Lily – Thank you for the wonderful suggestions. It helped a lot when writing this chapter.**

**Many thanks to those who reviewed! I've hit my goal of a hundred reviews~**

As Bella flipped through a copy of _A Christmas Carol_, her eyes suddenly flashed to the tiny calendar sitting on the ledge of the fireplace in the library. The library was not just filled with shelf after shelf of books. At the end of these shelves, there was a small space near the fireplace for you to read at. A light blue rug laid and a few pillows lay near the fireplace. The place was so comfortable Bella once fell asleep there but the next morning, when she woke up, she was in her bedroom. She later found out it was Edward who carried her back to her room when she dozed off.

As she walked over to look at the calendar, she realized it was just a week before Christmas. With no telling of time and day and no responsibilities that she needed to fulfill, Bella had completely lost her sense of time.

Christmas had been a special time for her. It was her favorite day of the year apart from her birthday. Christmas to her was a time to enjoy being with the ones dearest to you and also to make others happy. The gifts were always secondary to her and she never minded if no one got anything for her, she's happy as long as they give her their time and spend it with her. It was a day where she would not worry about anything but just reveling in the feeling of being with Jacob and her family.

But now in the Underground, Christmas with Jacob and her family's close to impossible. She didn't want to ask too much of Edward so she never asked if she could go see Jacob again. She could see that it had really upset him the other time she asked to see him and though she had no idea why Edward would be upset about that particular request, she didn't want to hurt him again. That and she didn't want to test Edward's limits.

Just then, Alice walked into the library looking for her. As usual, Alice was her fun and bubbly self as she skipped into the library. "Thought you might be here. C'mon, dinner's ready and Edward's waiting," she said as she extended her hand for Bella's.

Bella happily took her hand and stood up before straightening the place up. She had a knack of making a mess of this little corner to get comfortable. She would throw the pillows at every direction and it looked like a tornado had hit the place when she was finally comfortable. After everything was tidied up, she pulled her shirt down a little before walking with Alice down the long hallway and to the dining room.

"Say Alice, can I ask you something?" she asked and Alice smiled and just nodded her head. "Do you guys celebrate Christmas here?"

Alice's happy demeanor immediately changed as she stopped walking and looked down and sighed. She quietly shook her head as she looked at Bella. "We don't celebrate Christmas. I've tried but Edward never seems to want to have anything to do with things that made him happy. Christmas is like any other day to us, nothing special."

"H-how can that be? Christmas is a wonderful holiday for you spend to time with family and friends. You can't let it be 'another day' Alice."

"We don't have a family Bella. And as far as friends are concerned, you're the only one we have. I love Christmas but… Edward doesn't want it and I don't want to upset him…" Alice said as she continued playing with her fingers.

Bella went to stand in front of her and took her hands. "Do you want to have a Christmas Alice?" Bella asked. Alice gave Bella a weak smile as she turned her head up a little and Bella couldn't help but grin. "Well it's settled then, you and Edward are going to have a Christmas this year."

Alice's face immediately lit up but soon returned back to her pouty face. "I don't think my brother would really like that. I've tried for years to get him to celebrate Christmas but it always ends up as a one man or should I say one lady party. He rejects that holiday like crazy Bella."

"I don't get it. Why does he reject it?" Bella asked. She was confused; there was no one she knew who would ever reject Christmas. The food, the presents, the warm atmosphere was something no one could really resist.

Before Alice could answer Bella's question, they had arrived at the entrance of the dining room. Silently, they went in and started eating their dinner. No words were exchanged but the two couldn't stop staring at each other and Edward was getting pretty curious. He felt like he was a wall or something as he was in the middle of their silent conversation.

"Okay, could you please stop making me feel like a wall and tell me what is it the two of you are talking about?" Edward finally asked after some time. Both turned and stared at him and gave him the most innocent expressions to tell him that they weren't talking about anything. "Don't act dumb. You're talking about something."

Both girls looked at each other and they soon decided to tell him. He wasn't so happy about the idea at first but after constant pleading and puppy dog eyes and pouty lips, he finally relented and agreed to it on the condition that they would not be exchanging gifts. His reason for this was so it would be avoiding Christmas but yet also not avoid Christmas. Bella found his explanation odd but just decided to shrug it off.

She's going to be creating a new Christmas memory and this time, it will be in a different place with different people. The memories created will be completely different from the ones she had before. Just thinking about it made her so excited she couldn't wait to start decorating the Christmas tree which Alice would be getting for them.

~x~x~

"Tell me. What did you do for Christmases when you guys celebrated it?" Bella asked.

She and Alice were in her room discussing some details regarding the tree and decorations and stuff to prepare for Christmas. When she asked that question, Alice frowned a little before she shook her head vigorously and tried to remember.

"I can't really remember. It's been such a long time since the word Christmas has been uttered in this place. But I do remember waking up bright and early in the morning and baking some cookies with my mom. I remember when she let me lick the spoon and I was more than happy to accept. I also remember making snow angels on the snow. It was… fun…" Alice looked down and sighed. "I miss those times but do you know the part that I liked the best, the part I miss the most?" Bella shook her head as Alice let out a weak chuckle. "At the end of everything, we would huddle together on our parent's bed and we would snuggle and sleep together for that night. The bed would be the one Edward's using now. It's the bed for the king and queen of this place. It was… nice… to be snuggled close to your mother and father. I would say it's the one night I look forward to the most, the night I would have the nicest dreams." Alice looked at Bella and a slight blush colored her cheeks, "I know it's weird but it's a family tradition. Sure we get all cramped up on that little bed but it feels nice to be so close to someone you love."

"No, it's not stupid. I understand. When I was a little girl, I used to love to climb onto my parent's bed and sleep with them. All my nightmares just seem to go away," Bella laughed as she remembered that fond memory.

"You want to know something?" Alice asked and Bella nodded happily. "Edward loved Christmas. It used to be his favorite holiday when he was little. On Christmas day, he would be up at like two in the morning and he would be running down the hallway making a hell lot of nice," Alice chuckled at the thought. "I was still young back then but I always wanted to throw something at him for disturbing my precious sleep. It only got quiet when my father came out of the room and brought him to the living area where he would allow Edward to open one present."

Bella laughed along with Alice. She couldn't help picture a little Edward in his Christmas pajamas running down those long gray hallways and only stopping after his Daddy allows him to open one present. Her mind couldn't stop picturing his smiling face as he tore open wrapping paper and seeing his gift which put the huge smile on his face.

"What made him change?" Bella asked curiously after the two of them stopped giggling.

Alice saddened a little as she spoke. "We lost our parents a few days after his third Christmas. It happened such a long time ago. I've come to terms with it but Edward hasn't."

Seeing the saddened look in her eyes, Bella placed her palm on top of Alice's hand. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Alice quickly took a quick sniff and wiped the tears from her eyes before giving Bella a tight lipped smile. "It's okay. I just want to help my brother. I've tried for so long to help him remember his love for Christmas but it has all been failures."

An idea suddenly popped inside Bella's head and she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. "Alice, why don't we do that for Christmas? You know, re-live your favorite memories of the Christmas the two of you had with your parents. You'd like that right? And maybe, just maybe, it could help Edward along the way."

Alice beamed with excitement and began nodding her head as she clapped. "Yes yes! That would be lovely. Oh my gosh, that's a wonderful idea. But there's so much to do and so little time. We need to plan, buy supplies, decorations. Just thinking about it makes me so excited!" Alice cheered.

And so, the rest of the night involved them planning the perfect Christmas and before they knew it, the two of them collapsed onto Bella's bed and fell into a deep sleep, both of them excited and wishing that Christmas would come sooner.

~x~x~

**Christmas Day**

"_Merry Christmas babe," Jacob said as he handed Bella her present. _

_They were seated near the fireplace of their cozy little apartment cuddled together and opening one present each before Christmas. They had decided not to go to back to Forks to celebrate Christmas this year as Bella's parents were taking the long weekend to have a mini second honeymoon and Jacob's father was still mourning his mother's death and said he would like to be alone._

_Jacob's parents had a very close relationship, they were like two perfect puzzles pieces that fit together perfectly. Remove one piece and the other feels empty. In fact, when Jacob's mother died, his father got so badly affected, he wouldn't eat or drink or do anything. He said he had trouble sleeping as well as every time he closed his eyes, he would see her. It got so bad that Billy eventually became very ill and was admitted into the hospital. _

_However, with the support from Jacob and Bella and everyone from La Push, Billy managed to pull himself out of his gloom and continued with life. Even so, he still misses his wife terribly. When Jacob volunteered to go over to Forks to spend Christmas with him, Billy rejected it and said that he wanted to be alone with his memories. Jacob didn't argue as he still wasn't quite ready to go back to a home without his mother there to smile and greet him when he walked in the door._

"_What's inside?" Bella asked as she took the box closer to her ear and shook it. It wasn't heavy and there was no sound to indicate what could be inside and that made her even more curious._

"_Open it and you'll find out," Jacob said as he tightened his arms around her waist and she snuggled closer to his chest._

_Slowly, she opened the gift making sure she did not rip the paper. Bella was a perfectionist in this sense. She didn't like to just tear the wrapping paper like any other person would. Instead, she preferred to slowly remove the sticky tape and keep the perfect piece of wrapping paper. She was a collector and she loved collecting wrapping paper due to its shiny colors or pretty pictures as she called it._

_When she finished unwrapping, she lifted the lid to see what Jacob had gotten her. In the middle of the box amidst tons of shreds of paper was a pair of baby mittens and a matching beanie. It was too small to fit Bella or any adult for that matter._

"_Are you trying to hide something I don't know? I mean isn't it impossible for a guy to get pregnant?" Bella joked and Jacob couldn't help but chuckle._

"_It's for our future baby," he said as he kissed her neck. "I saw it in the store the other day and couldn't help but buy it. I know you'll love it as you're always so maternal y'know. Take it as a symbol from me to show you how much I love you and our future baby."_

_Bella couldn't help but smile as she held the tiny mittens in her hands. To think that one day, she would be having Jacob's baby and when he or she is born, she can put these cute little things on their tiny hands. _

"_We're not married yet Jacob. So don't even think of messing with my birth control pills. I don't want to get pregnant out of wedlock," she said but couldn't stop smiling at her present. _

"_I can't wait to be married to you. Just think, two years from now, we could be sitting here or in our new home with our lil critter. I can see it almost too clearly now," Jacob said and he too couldn't stop smiling._

_Bella let out a soft chuckle before whispering, "I love you."_

_Jacob didn't answer it but turned Bella's chin a little as he placed his lips on hers. It was a short kiss and when they broke apart, he whispered, "I love you too Bella."_

_Slowly, Bella opened her eyes only to see that she wasn't sitting on Jacob's lap but on Edward's instead. She was shocked for a moment but she couldn't understand her next gesture. She smiled at him and snuggled even closer into his chest as she picked his present from her for him to open…_

"Rise and shine Bella!" Alice came bouncing into the room and pulled the quilt from Bella making her shiver a little from the cold. "It's Christmas Christmas Christmas! Oh I'm so excited. We're going to have so much fun today!" Alice chattered as she started to pull out pieces of clothing for Bella from the closet.

Bella was a little shaken from her dream and also Alice's sudden enthusiasm. Of all the time she had been in this place, she had never seen an Alice with so much energy. In fact, it scared her a little but she just shrugged it off.

Bella chuckled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes before stretching a little. "Just how much sugar did you take this morning?" she teased as she walked into the bathroom and started the water to get all the cold water out.

When all the cold water was out, Bella closed the door and stripped out of her pajamas and started to wash her hair and body. When she was done, she quickly took the towel and toweled herself dry before brushing her teeth. When she was sure that she had gotten rid of her morning breath and that her teeth were sparkling white, Alice poked her head into the bathroom. Bella immediately pulled the towel a little higher.

"Sorry to bother you but I just wanted to tell you that I'll be heading over to the kitchen to set everything up first. You know where it is right? I'll see you there when you're done okay?" Bella nodded as she shooed Alice out of the bathroom. Alice smiled as she quietly closed the door. "Oh and Bella! I didn't get much sugar in the body but I will very soon," she chimed as Bella heard her room door close and she couldn't help laugh at Alice's excitement.

Bella quickly rinsed her mouth and got dressed in the pink sweater and blue jeans that Alice had prepared for her and walked briskly to the kitchen. She had been to the kitchen two days ago to ensure that Alice had brought the correct ingredients to make the cookies that she intended to make on Christmas morning.

As she walked down the long hallway, she couldn't help but think about the dream she had. What did it mean and why did Jacob turn into Edward when her eyes opened after they kissed? Did she kiss Edward or did she kiss Jacob? And why did Edward say that he loves her? _It's nothing but a dream…_ Bella quickly brushed it off as her sometimes overactive imagination. It was nothing. Before she knew it, she was standing outside the kitchen and as she gave the double doors a soft push, it opened to the most wonderful and well equipped kitchen she had ever set foot on.

It wasn't like those big white kitchens you see at fancy restaurants. Instead, it looked like a typical kitchen one would find at home. Drawers with utensils in it, a glass case which held plates, an oven, pots and pans at a corner. The counters had been properly laid with the necessary ingredients and items needed to make the cookies.

As Bella slipped on her apron, she and Alice started baking. They planned on making chocolate chip cookies, ginger bread men and almond cookies. As they were mixing the ingredients to make their first batch of cookies, Bella noticed that Alice had put twice the amount of sugar needed for almond cookies.

"You know you're just going to make your teeth rot out with that much sugar," Bella said as she started to whisk the mixture and Alice rolled the dough to prepare to cut out little gingerbread man.

Alice chuckled as she continued rolling. "I have to Bella. You see, human food is actually quite disgusting to me and Edward. We prefer blood but over time, human food is more convenient so we managed to adapt to a diet of human food with the occasional sip of blood. But our taste buds do not work like your human taste buds. They react rather weakly to human food so we need to intensify the flavor a little before we can truly enjoy the taste."

"Wait, everything you've cooked for me thus far was delicious, not too sweet and not too salty. So does that mean the food's bland for you?" Bella asked.

Alice quietly nodded. "Don't tell me you didn't notice the amount of maple syrup Edward and I put in our pancakes," Alice chuckled but Bella didn't laugh back. She felt guilty. Alice noticed this and quickly interrupted Bella's train of thought. "Don't think about it. I mean, it's much healthier right? Besides, Edward doesn't mind so I don't mind too."

Bella smiled as she added the final ingredients for the almond cookies and set it on the tray before putting it into the oven which Alice had already preheated. After that, she went to help Alice with the gingerbread man but she quickly refused stating that she liked cutting out little man out of dough a little too much. Bella chuckled as she went to prepare the ingredients for the chocolate chip cookies.

After they had placed their last batch of cookies in the oven, Bella noticed that it was already ten. They had been working for like four hours but it seemed more like four minutes to her. It was so much fun and she loved the look on Alice's face when she let her lick the spoon. She looked like a little girl.

"Why don't we let the cookies bake and we go have some brunch?" Alice asked after she tossed all the mixing bowls and utensils into the sink. "I can whip up some pancakes in record time and we could also have some of these cookies?" Alice asked.

"Why don't I help you?" Bella offered.

"Oh no no. You did a lot already Bella. I mean look at the sheer amount of cookies we made. Go back and wash up a little. You're a mess!" Alice teased as she brushed some flour off Bella's hair.

Bella gave Alice a small smile before walking out the kitchen door and to her room. She quickly washed her hair and for the first time – since she arrived at this place, she dug through her closet for something suitable to wear. She swore that Alice had bought like a whole boutique or something for her.

Finally, she decided to wear a white tank top and pulled on a stripped cashmere sweater along with some dark jeans. They seemed the most comfortable as compared to the dresses, skirts and leggings that she found at one of the many compartments of the closet.

After brushing her hair and making sure her hair wasn't in a mess, she quickly jogged to the dining room where she was met with a smiling Alice and an awaiting Edward. She quickly joined them as they started eating their pancakes.

"Merry Christmas Edward," Bella said as she smiled at him.

"Mmm, yeah. Merry Christmas," he quickly responded. He still wasn't too up for the idea of celebrating Christmas.

When Edward took the maple syrup to pour on his pancakes, Bella paid special attention to the amount he poured and what Alice said earlier was true. He did pour a lot while Bella would have only poured half the amount he poured. Bella couldn't help but stifle a giggle as Alice looked at her knowingly before she too poured the same amount of syrup as her brother. Edward noticed Bella's giggle and just looked confused when he watched Bella and Alice's little silent exchange. When he raised one of his eyebrows to ask what was going on, Bella quickly shook her head to tell him nothing was going on.

When they finished their pancakes, Alice took out three silver plates which held the cookies they had made earlier together. It was a little too sweet for Bella's liking due to the extra amount of sugar added so Alice gave her a glass of milk and a sorry look. She quickly shook it off and greedily drank the milk as she ate the cookies. Edward and Alice on the other hand seemed to love the cookies so Bella was pleased.

When they were sure they couldn't fit another cookie into their tummies, Alice cleaned up the room as Bella brought Edward to a special room that she and Alice had prepared just for this special occasion.

As Bella continued to pull Edward through the hallway, he took notice that he had never brought Bella to this part of the castle before. This was the part that had tons of empty rooms that housed nothing. It used to be for parties and stuff but there hasn't been a soul in the Underground for ages, well except for Edward and Alice of course.

"Where are you taking me?" Edward asked and he couldn't help but smile as Bella pulled him down the hallway like a child pulling her dad down the aisle to get her favorite toy.

"We're going to have a Christmas that you once had, with your family," Bella said and Edward immediately stiffened as he stopped walking. Bella noticed this and turned to face him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I-I don't think this is such a good idea…" Edward said, his voice filled with sadness.

"Edward…" Bella said and Edward looked and stared at her. "You can't keep on living in the past. You have to move on or you'll not only hurt yourself but Alice as well. Do you know how excited she was when we were doing the preparations two nights ago?" Edward shook his head and Bella smiled at him a little and he seemed to soften a little. "She's was like she was having a sugar rush. Try to enjoy this for her. For you okay?" Edward looked down and quietly nodded as Bella took his flaming hand and brought him to the room.

Edward stood at the door and looked… confused? His expression was difficult to read. Biting her lip, Bella pushed open the door and brought Edward into the room.

The room was covered in a blanket of white and at the corner; there was a fake Christmas tree with more white stuff covering it. One look and it looked like snow but when Edward took a sniff of it, it smelled a little sour. Definitely not the smell of frozen water.

"What's this? It looks like snow but it's not?" Edward asked.

Bella's face immediately turned a lovely shade of pink as she looked down. "Well… It's cheese snow. We couldn't use real snow as it would melt before you even got here and there was no way we could set everything up in time in the morning. So… while brainstorming for ideas, I suddenly remembered this Christmas special of _Drake & Josh _I saw a few years back. The guy whose name I cannot remember used cheese to make snow using a wood chipper. I know it sounds stupid but cheese doesn't melt as quick as ice and with the right temperature, it can stay the way we left it. So, Alice went to buy tons of hard cheese and we started to use a wood chipper like that episode I saw and viola! Cheese snow!"

Edward couldn't help but laugh at it but soon he took Bella's hand and pulled her down and they both fell down onto the cheese snow. "What are you doing?" Bella laughed.

"We're going to make cheese snow angels. I bet I could make one that's prettier than yours," Edward joked as he started spreading his arms and legs and Bella too joined him. Alice soon came in and joined in the fun.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the cheese snow. They build a cheese snowman and it was much easier as the cheese was a little sticky. They had a cheese snowball fight. Edward laughed louder and harder than Bella had ever seen him laugh. It was like the child in him resurfaced.

Alice soon excused herself to go and prepare dinner but insisted that Edward and Bella play a little while longer. They happily agreed and continued with their cheese snowball fight. Edward abandoned the little fort he made and started chasing Bella as he clutched chunks of cheese snow and tossed it at her. Bella too followed and soon, Edward was just trying to catch Bella.

He soon caught her as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Bella couldn't stop laughing as she turned around but to her surprise, the proximity they had was closer than she thought. Laughs soon turned into gazes as they just stared at each other.

Edward used his thumb to rub Bella's cheek and removed some of the snow cheese that was on it. His face soon turned into a smile as he thanked her and walked out the room.

Confused, Bella fell to the ground as she touched her cheek at the area that Edward had rubbed his thumb on. What was it that she was feeling? She couldn't understand it but at that moment, her heart was beating quicker than normal and she felt her cheeks warming up a little.

"What's going on?" Bella whispered as she quickly patted her cheeks and went out of the room. _Edward was just getting rid of the cheese that's on your cheek. That's all. Don't think too much into it. _She continued chanting these words to herself as she walked over to the dining room for dinner.

Dinner was quiet as they ate the turkey and mashed potatoes that Alice had prepared. Before they knew it, they were at the library by the fireplace sipping on hot cocoa and talking about the most nonsensical stuff. Eleven soon arrived and they all headed back to their respective rooms.

Since they were going to keep their family Christmas tradition, Alice followed Edward back to his room. When she noticed Bella walking the opposite direction, she immediately stopped her. "Bella, where are you going?"

Bella looked confused as she answered, "My room. I'm going to turn in for the night."

"You can't do that," Alice said before pulling Bella to Edward's room.

"Wha-What? I can't sleep on the same bed as you guys. It's a family tradition."

"You're like family to me Bella. So c'mon. The bed's big enough for all three of us and I've already prepared your pajamas for you," Alice said as she continued pulling and Bella decided to just follow since there was no use trying to argue with Alice. "Oh and don't worry, Edward doesn't snore," Alice giggled and Edward rolled his eyes.

They soon got ready and Bella felt really uncomfortable. Apart from Jacob, Bella never shared a bed with anyone before. Alice soon climbed into bed with Edward and he too looked a little uncomfortable. As everyone got settled, they just laid there and Alice played some weird game and before she knew it, Bella fell into a deep sleep.

"Thank you Bella," Alice said as she snuggled closer to Bella, holding her hands as she fell asleep.

**Nothing to say for this AN. I'm not really in the right state of mind… **

**I want to apologize if I got anything wrong in this chapter. It's hard writing about snow since I've never seen any before in my life. The country I'm from is sunny all year round. **

**Anyways, I'm not sure when I'll be updating so why not head over to **_**ItzMegan73**_**'s profile and read **_**A Rough Start. **_**The fic is in my favorites list. Quite easy to spot since it's the second one now.**

**Next chapter will be Bella going up to New York or Seattle or somewhere. Jacob's birthday is coming.**

**If you want to take a look at Bella's outfit after the baking session, I've posted it on the blog, www(.)lilvampgirl(.)blogspot(.)com. Just remove the brackets and you're good to go.**

**Till next time… Do leave me a review as reviews are as sweet as Edward rubbing cheese snow off my cheek.**

**No question for this chapter since no one bothers answering them with the exception of Lily. Thanks girl~**

**LVG**


	13. Reciprocation

**sagajunkie**** – I would be more than happy to answer your questions for you but you blocked your PM. I love giving people spoilers and I don't feel that spoilers destroy a story but make one want to continue reading on. But that's how I feel so if you would like it, send me a PM and I would be happy to answer your questions! And I don't mind that you never answer the questions for the chapter. The questions are just this silly little idea I had to try and communicate with the readers and get more reviews. *so embarrassed that she blushes beet red***

**Okay…**

**Who is happy LVG finally updated? Me!  
Who's happy that I've finished the whole of Jacob's birthday? Me! *Well most of it… there's still the last part left but I just decided to post something today.*  
Who's happy I'm out of my funk from that flame from the previous chapter? Me! Well… Mostly! My self esteem got hit quite badly and it never recovers… Ever…  
Who's happy that even though I know I suck at writing, I still write? ME ME ME!  
Who's happy school's about to start for LVG? *Cricket… Cricket…***

**Haha, I wanted to rant a lot but I changed my mind. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and I'm completely blown off by how many of you enjoyed the cheese snow! *Takes tissues and wipes face clean***

**Anywhooo, onto some Edward! Who doesn't love him? Not ME! Heh~ Enjoy this little filler! The interesting part's the next chapter. *Runs away***

Time flies when you have nothing that needs to be done, no responsibilities that need to be fulfilled, and no worries to worry about. That was life for Bella now in the Underground, absolutely easy.

It had been about two weeks since she celebrated Christmas with Edward and Alice and the memories created then was something she knew would forever be engraved in her heart. She hoped that the Christmases to come would be just as memorable and she would remember them to the very last detail. The memories to her were too precious for her to lose.

After the Christmas celebration, Alice gave Bella a gift and that was time with Jacob. Though Bella questioned if Edward would be upset over this, Alice just shook that thought away and said that Edward owed Bella for the awesome Christmas celebration. So, they arranged a schedule that they would head to the Tower every Tuesday after lunch and spend the entire afternoon there till it was time to head back.

Bella and Jacob were more than ecstatic about this. Though Bella had questioned why she couldn't just stay at the Tower with Jacob or Jacob just be moved over to the castle, Alice quickly brushed the question away and didn't answer. Still, Bella took what she could get and she maximized the time they spent together in the little place Jacob was held in.

On the two days they spent together, Bella and Jacob made sure to spend as much time as possible showing each other just how much they loved each other. One was spent like a lazy Sunday where they read a book and snuggled close and the other was spent making love till Alice said it was time to go. Though the physical connection was gone, the emotional one was not and Bella dreamt about Jacob holding her close almost every night after that.

Not to say that now Bella had time with Jacob that she neglected the other people in her life. She still spent a massive amount of time with Edward like their usual routine of eating together and reading in his room and just talking to him on some occasions.

Ever since the Christmas celebration, you could see a huge change in Edward. In just two weeks, he has become a completely different person from the person Bella first met when she was brought to the Underground. He's smiling more and also getting more engaged in conversations during meal times. He didn't seem like the aloof, suffer in silence guy anymore and he's opening up to Bella more, answering more of her questions and telling her more about himself. Bella's like learning a whole different side to her master that she never thought existed.

Alice of course is over the moon over the change in her brother. She mentioned it to Bella one night when they were hanging out in Bella's bedroom and she couldn't stop thanking Bella for it but Bella just brushed it off saying that she did nothing.

Alice and Bella's relationship too had taken a turn for the better. They're closer than ever. Though they were close before, they were getting closer and closer to the extent that they could finish some of each other's sentences from time to time. At first, it scared the hell out of them but they soon laughed it off and hugged.

Life had gotten so much better for not only Bella but also for Edward, Alice and Jacob. When discussing it with him in the Tower, Jacob mentioned that this could be a blessing in disguise. Sure they didn't get to spend as much time as they wanted together with them having to be separated, but there was a significant change in the both of them. Jacob looked much healthier than before and Bella has become a more cheerful and happy person.

Yes, it did seem like a life was getting better but one thing still bothered Bella, one thing that kept her up till the wee hours of the night and would not just shut up no matter how hard she tried. Why in the world was she even brought to the Underground in the first place?

~x~x~

"You called for me?" Bella asked as she stuck her head through Edward's door.

Edward quietly nodded and asked her to come in. When Bella was standing just in front of him opposite his study desk, he took in a deep breath before saying, "I want to give you something to… repay you for the Christmas gift you gave me. I know Alice has given you time with Jacob so I'm really not sure about what to give you…"

Bella cocked her head to a side. She was confused. "I thought you said no gift exchanging? I didn't give you anything."

Edward couldn't help but break into a smile. He was doing that more often now and Bella couldn't help but be blown away whenever he smiled like that. "You gave me one of the best Christmases I've ever had Bella. Now I'll feel bad if I don't return the favor," he said as he looked up and smiled at her. "So… what would you like?"

"Anything?" she asked, a little unsure.

"Yes," he nodded but quickly added, "So long as it is something we can both agree on. Then anything."

Now that he put it that way, freedom was definitely out. Bella had never wanted to ask that knowing she would never get it. So, she went to the next best possibility. "I want time with Jacob."

Edward blinked his eyes a little as he processed Bella's request. "Didn't Alice already give you that?"

"Yes Alice did give me time with Jacob… on Tuesdays."

"Isn't that enough? Unless you wanted another day but you do have to think of the risks involved in travelling to and from the Tower. I don't wish to put you in so much danger."

"I understand that. It's just, I just want one week. One whole week to think, do everything about Jacob. Especially next Thursday on January 14."

Edward cocked his eyebrow, "Why January 14?"

Bella looked down and played with her fingers. "It's Jacob's birthday. I was wondering if I could have the whole of next week to plan a celebration for him."

"That sounds like a pretty reasonable request," Edward agreed before he looked up at Bella and continued, "So… What would you like to do to prepare for his birthday?"

"Well… There's a tradition for birthdays between Jacob and I. The tradition's pretty simple. We'll have a meal together and then make a wish on a cake we bought from this bakery. It's in Forks and we'll go and get one from that bakery no matter what. Even when we moved to New York, we would still find ways and means to get the cake from that little shop," Bella chuckled at the last line before continuing, "Anyway, after we blew out the candle and made a wish, we would kiss and that would be pretty much that."

Edward smiled at the way Bella wore a goofy grin on her face as she spoke and couldn't help but wish that he too could create such simple traditions with the ones he loved. "Why couldn't you just bake a cake for him?"

Bella giggled when she heard that question and that peaked Edward's curiosity. "We're always about equals and Jacob can't cook to save his life. There was one year when I baked a cake for him and he found out, he went to try and make one for me as well for my birthday and boy did it turn out to be a disaster," she laughed as she remembered that fond memory. "So since then… We make a pinky swear to buy a cake for each other instead of making one."

Edward smiled his million dollar smile as he stared at his table. "So let me get this straight. You would like a week and during that week, you want to go to Forks to get that… cake for Jacob? Is that right?"

Realizing that she would need to go to Forks to fulfill her request, Bella felt a little panicky, fearing Edward would reject her request. And even if he allowed it, there was a problem. She needed to go to Forks for the cake which would mean being _seen_. Everyone's bound to know that she and Jacob are missing so how would it be possible to let them see her knowing that she would disappear again after that.

Even with all the doubts within her, she still nodded to Edward's question. Edward gave her a small smile as he looked through the papers on his desk. "Very well then. We'll go to Forks on Wednesday. I'll personally bring you there myself."

Bella blinked at Edward as if she couldn't believe him. "You're serious?" she asked and Edward nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you so much. Thank you Edward, thank you," she said as went over and embraced him.

~x~x~

That night, Bella and Alice we having their usual _hanging out _sessions. They've been doing this a lot since Christmas. They just had so much fun being in each other's company they didn't see the need to not continue with these sessions.

As they talked, Bella couldn't help but remember Edward's gift to her and her worries about the upcoming visit to Forks. Would anyone recognize her? What would she find when she's up there? She's been missing for a few weeks now and everyone's bound to be worried.

Alice suddenly noticed Bella's silence and asked her what's wrong. Knowing that Alice could help her, she confided in her all the worries she had and Alice shook them off.

"Bella, have you forgotten my gift? Or rather my special ability?" Alice asked.

Bella looked at Alice, confused. Gift? Special ability? She's heard it before but she just couldn't place her finger on it. Slowly, she nodded her head to indicate that she did indeed forget.

Alice chuckled and she playfully hit Bella on the head. "Silly… When Edward answered your questions, he mentioned something about our… extra senses, yes; I think that was the phrase he used. Anyway, he mentioned that we have extra senses, he can sense people's thoughts and I can sense one's future. Remember?"

Bella thought hard. She could vaguely remember their conversation but the topic of their extra senses was pretty short. "I sorta remember but I also remember him saying that it wasn't very strong. Like he can't sense what I'm thinking."

"Well that's true. Our gifts are far less superior than the average vampire due to our human part but the way my ability works is different from his. I am able to sense everyone's future but not the extremely major ones where you keep on changing your mind. But a simple thing like you going to the above is pretty easy. I should be able to see the outcome if I concentrate hard enough," Alice explained as she closed her eyes. "I… I can see it quite vaguely… but… I don't think that you going to the above would be a problem," she said the last line as she opened her eyes. "There's nothing for you to worry about okay?"

Bella nodded. "It's just I don't know what I would do if I see my father or my mother or anyone I know. I mean, what if they recognize me? How do I explain… my… situation?"

Alice took Bella's hand and looked into her eyes. "Don't worry. Edward is going with you right?" Bella nodded. "Then it'll be okay. You can trust my brother. He'll make sure everything turns out alright," Alice smiled as Bella relaxed at the reassurance that Edward would make everything alright.

"It's late, I think it's time for bed," Alice said.

When Bella got comfortable on her eyes started to droop, Alice pulled the quilt over her and patted her head.

"Don't worry. He has much more to lose if he were to lose you," she whispered in Bella's ear. In fact, it was so low that Bella thought she was dreaming.

**First thing that I would like clarify with everyone. No one ever requested to rewrite Kidnapped. So next time if you want to insult me, do your homework first… Only one person asked to rewrite my stories and that story is Two Faces and that was because it was seriously very badly written…**

**I'll chatter more the next chapter as I'm seriously pissed and I don't want to sound mean. Sorry. Meanwhile, another great fic that I've found would be **_**Faking It **_**by ****spanglemaker9. It's about Hollywood and all their crap. And Edward as a movie star just makes me think of Rpatz. *Sigh…***

**Do leave me a review! It's as sweet as Edward's million dollar smile!**

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	14. Acquintance

**Surprise! An update! And just after my update yesterday! Yeah! *Chuckles***

**Anyway, thank you once again to the wonderful people who reviewed. Though I am sad to have lost a reader, I am glad I still have readers who have decided to continue reading even with the change in rating. The number of hits I received yesterday just blew me away. You guys rock. **

**I'll rattle on at the end of the chapter. Enjoy~**

_January 13_

"All set to go?" Edward asked as he poked his head into Bella's room.

Bella was packing her bag in preparation to go to Forks and buy Jacob's birthday cake. All preparations for tomorrow were done and the only thing missing was the cake. She had decided on the theme and everything to the very fine details. Now all that was left was to get the cake and execute her perfectly laid out plan.

To say that Bella was excited was an understatement. She's wanted to return Jacob the favor for giving her the best birthday celebration she ever had the previous year. In fact, she had actually planned everything to the very last detail since last year. Though she couldn't hold it at Central Park as planned, she was more than excited about it even though it would be held at Jacob's little apartment like cell.

"Yep, I'm ready!" Bella chirped as she slung her back pack over her shoulder and exited her room. Since Forks was always raining, she prepared an umbrella and also some money to buy the cake.

When she was outside and looking at Edward, she was confused. He was holding onto two cloaks that she had used previously when she went to the Tower and she flinched at the thought. The cloaks meant the Shadows and Shadows meant danger. She didn't exactly know how she would be going to the above but now she had a rough idea that she would need to leave the safe confines of the castle.

"I see you've gotten the cloaks…" Bella whispered with a tinge of panic in it.

Edward sensed her worry and quickly calmed her down by saying, "We won't be leaving the castle. There's a way to go to the above from inside the castle."

Bella cocked her head a little and looked at him, confused written all over her face. "Then what are the cloaks for?"

Edward chuckled. "Bella, these cloaks aren't only used to fight off Shadows. I know your experience with them is not good but these cloaks have lots of purposes. They can keep the rain away, help us avoid being seen etcetera etcetera. Since we'll be going to Forks, we can use it to protect us from the rain and you know that we can't be seen by anyone you know right?" Bella nodded and Edward continued, "Okay. So don't worry. You'll be fine." Bella smiled a little as Edward walked closer and leaned forward and whispered something into her ear, "I won't let anything happen to you."

As she felt his hot breath on her neck, she couldn't help but blush at the proximity that they were at. Edward lingered there for a moment longer as he breathed in her scent, teasing her a little and she couldn't do anything but freeze. He chuckled as he handed her the cloak and quickly helped her drape it over her before pulling his own cloak over himself.

After he had put on his cloak, he turned and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I want you to answer something truthfully. Please know that I'm not joking and I want a sincere answer okay?" he asked as he stared down at her with so much intensity, Bella had to blink a couple of times before she nodded her head. "Will you run away?" he asked.

That question completely confused Bella. "You'll never let me run away," she answered and looked away from his gasp. The proximity and the intensity of his gaze were too much for her self control. She had to escape one way or another.

Moving his arms down a little, his hands gripped her upper arms tight and made her look at him. "When we're in Forks, I don't know what will happen. You can escape like how you did the… other… time…"

"But if I do, Jacob will die," she retorted.

"You know I won't kill him," Edward argued back and Bella had nothing to say. It was true, Edward was such a gentle loving creature, and he couldn't even kill a fly if he wanted to. The persona he pulled when the two of them first met – the cold, evil, wouldn't hesitate to kill side of him – was just an act and that's all it'll ever be, an act.

Staring at her eyes again, he asked, "Will you?"

As she stared into those green orbs, those beautiful green orbs that seemed to be connected to his soul, Bella found herself unable to speak. All she wanted to do was kiss him, touch him, hold him like she was holding onto dear life.

Still unable to speak, she gently shook her head and smiled at him. "I won't leave you. You can trust me."

Edward smiled and gently pulled her hood over her head and securing it in place. "Thank you. Now let's go," he said as he took her hand and pulled her to the tunnels leading to the above.

As they neared the tunnels, Edward's grip on her hand tightened. Everywhere you looked, there were tunnels after tunnels and each tunnel led to somewhere different so if you weren't careful, getting lost was highly possible. In addition to that, it was pitch dark and there was barely enough light to even see your hand in front of your face.

"Edward… I'm scared. I can't see anything," Bella said as her grip on his hand tightened even more to the extent that her knuckles were bone white.

Sensing her anxiety, Edward let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. Instinctually, Bella wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself close to his side as his other hand rubbed her arm.

"I'm sorry," he apologized and Bella looked up, barely able to see his face but she could see that his face turned into a small smile. "I didn't find it a need to… install lights here."

"Install lights?"

"Yeah… You do remember when you first came here it was pitch black right?" he said as he pulled her and they walked into a tunnel with a huge pitch fork on the top. Bella nodded as they started to walk down a long path that seemed to lead to nowhere. "Alice and I don't really need much light to be able to see so we never bothered to install lighting. But when you came, we knew that your human eyes are far weaker than ours so we made a point to install some lighting in some parts of the castle, the parts that you would visit the most. I just never expected that you would travel to that part of the castle so I saw no need to install lighting there," he explained.

"So let me get this straight, you installed lighting… For my benefit?" Bella asked.

"That's about right," Edward answered and Bella's hold on him tightened and she clung closer to him.

Though the way they were holding each other now should have been really awkward as it was a pretty intimate moment, Bella didn't feel that way. It felt so normal for her and she felt exceptionally safe in this unknown place they were passing through.

The splashing of water could soon be heard and before she knew it, she could feel something cold and wet hitting her leg. Instinctually, she looked down too see what it was but saw nothing as it was too dark. She kicked the substance a little but only got the substance at the top of her pants. She got wet.

The place they were walking through was covered completely in water that rose to above her ankles. Moss had grown on the ground and Bella found herself slipping on more than one occasion. This led to Edward tightening his grip on her waist to prevent her from falling. They didn't need Bella to fall and get herself all wet.

"Hold on tight," he instructed as her grip tightened. In normal human circumstances, the person she was holding would probably feel extremely uncomfortable from being held onto so tightly but Edward never complained as he continued rubbing her arm with his free hand.

They soon came to a stop and Bella extended her arm forward to see what was in front of them to make them stop moving. Her hand touched something smooth yet a little flaky, it was rust. As she guided her hand lightly on the object, she realized she was holding onto a horizontal metal bar, as she moved her hand up, there was one more. It was a ladder.

"Do we need to climb up?" she asked.

"Yes. You'll go first. When you reach the top, there will be an opening. All you have to do is push the lid open and climb out," Edward instructed as he led Bella's hands to the ladder. When he was sure Bella had gripped onto the metal bar, he slowly carried the rest of her body forward and placed her feet on a lower one. "Don't be afraid. I'll be right behind you. I won't let you fall."

Taking in a deep breath, Bella started to climb up. It was harder than it seemed as the bars were old and to make matters worse, her feet were wet so there were occasions where she slipped but Edward was always behind to catch her leg and put it back on the bar.

Before she knew it, her head lightly hit something and she stopped. Carefully lifting her hand up, she pushed the heavy lid up before sliding it to a side and climbing out.

She had expected to see some light but she came up to total darkness. It was even darker than the tunnel and she immediately started panicking. In a state of panic, she started flinging her hands everywhere searching for something. When her hands touched something warm, hot even, she immediately relaxed. Edward was there. She wasn't alone and she was instantly relieved.

Clutching Bella's hand, Edward pushed a small door open and pushed something, a shrub or something green aside before pulling her along with him out of the tiny space they were confined in.

As she slowly walked out of the little hole, her eyes were immediately hit with light and though it wasn't really strong, it still stung a little as she had spent a whole lot of time in the dark. So, she had to blink a couple of times before she registered what was before her.

She was in a forest, probably a forest in the outskirts of Forks. It was truly amazing. She had practically grown up in Forks and had done her fair share of exploring its lush forest but she had never been to this part before. The trees grew close to each other and the whole sky was being covered by the green leaves that even if it rained, you would hardly feel it with the exception of some of the rain drop falling through the little holes. It was truly beautiful.

The air was clean and it felt nice to have a little sun touch her skin. She had been so deprived of sunlight that it truly felt good on her skin. As she turned around to find Edward, he was closing the little opening they had climbed out from and pushing some shrubs to cover it. It wasn't exactly the best way to hide something but it worked. The opening was so small that no one would really find it. That and it was edged on a tree.

It felt magical in that sense when they climbed out. It was like climbing through a magical portal and entering an entirely new world.

When he was done covering up the little opening, Edward slowly jogged up to where Bella was. She was standing a short distance from him where some sunlight was shining through. "How will we be able to find the opening later now that you have expertly _hidden _it?"

Edward gave her a small smile. "Simple, we find the tree," he answered and Bella got confused.

"All the trees look the same to me."

"That's true, but this one's different," he said as he took her hand and pointed to a tree. "See that tree over there? If you were to examine it closely, you would see an engraving on it."

Bella walked over and placed her hands on the tree's trunk and examined it closely. True enough, there was an engraving there. It had aged with time but it was still visible if you looked closely. _ILYE. _

"What do these words mean?" Bella asked as she pointed to the marking.

Edward looked… conflicted when Bella asked him the question, like he was contemplating whether to tell her or not. After a moment of awkward silence, he finally spoke, "My father carved that for my mother, so she would always know how to find him when she wanted to."

"Sounds really sweet," Bella smiled as she dusted away some of the dirt that had accumulated on the mark and continued looking at it. "It's really romantic," Bella said as she turned to look at Edward and he looked like he was burning or something. He was in pain. Not knowing what to do or what to say, Bella did the only thing that came to her mind and that was to try and comfort him the best she could.

As she reached out and took his arm, he didn't resist it so she took it as an indication that he really needed someone right now. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him like he was about to fall apart any moment. "I'm sorry for bringing it up…" she whispered as she rubbed circles with her thumb on his back.

"I'm sorry for breaking down…" he whispered as he unwrapped her arms around his waist. "Let's go get that cake," he smiled as he took her hand and walked out of the forest.

They walked and walked in what seemed like a never ending maze but soon enough, they managed to leave the thick piece of green behind them and step onto a road, the road that you traveled to enter Forks. There in front of them stood the huge sign that welcomed them to Forks and from there, Bella led Edward to the little bakery where she would make her purchase.

~x~x~

The bell at the door of the little bakery rang as Bella opened the door the two of them entered the little bakery.

"Welcome to blah blah blah… You know the name…" The girl at the counter greeted in the most bored voice Bella had ever heard.

She was someone she didn't recognize so maybe she was someone new to the town. She had a pretty face and strawberry blond hair tied into a low ponytail. She was seating on one of the chairs and her legs hung on the counter as she read her magazine.

Pulling her hood down, Bella asked, "Erm… I'm looking for Mrs. Weber?"

"She's not in today. Apparently the chief of police's daughter went missing and his wife got so worried that she fell sick. So the boss's taking care of her now…" The girl answered without once bothering to look up at Bella.

The information Bella got shocked her. Her mother's sick and it's because of her disappearance. Though it was lucky in a way that she would not be spotted by anyone she knew, she still couldn't help but feel the immense amount of worry that she was feeling right now.

Noticing Bella's silence, Edward pulled down his hood and reminded her of why she was here. He walked over to the counter and looked at the 'obviously-I-hate-my job-to-the-core' girl. "We're here to get a cake? Could you show us some erm… Tanya?" Edward asked as he looked at the girl's name tag.

Her eyes immediately shot wide open as she took in Edward's features. Edward thought nothing of it as it was how most humans acted around him when he first introduces himself to them. That was until she spoke or more like screamed… "Oh my goodness! I know you!" she shouted and Bella immediately perked up. "We slept together! Remember? After my senior prom at Alaska. And…and you bit me! And just disappeared into thin air when I woke up in the morning. I tried looking for you but you weren't there," she chattered on and Edward noticed Bella fix two to two together.

_Fuck_.

Their main worry was her being spotted by someone who knew her but it seemed the tables have turned. Someone who knew Edward spotted him. Well technically Tanya didn't know who Edward was but she had been his _companion _once a long time ago. Edward never bothered to remember the faces of the women he slept with before as to him, they all looked the same, at least until he met Bella…

Now he had to think and quick to try and cover up but he was just stumped. So, he just settled with the quickest thing that came to his mind. "I'm sorry. But I think you got the wrong person. We've never met and I've never been to Alaska," he quickly said as he tried to shush her up with his eyes. Sure enough, it worked. She was too mesmerized to say anything. "Anyway… We're here for a cake?"

"Erm… Y-yes. It's over there," she said in her Edward induced trance as she pointed to the display cases.

Bella quickly walked over to choose her cake, not looking at Edward once. She didn't know why but she felt… jealous? Why in the world would she be jealous? She just didn't know. Maybe it was because of finding out about one of Edward's old _sex_ partners. Though it was none of her business to bother about Edward's sex life and she knew about his history about when he went up to find some companionship but it never struck her that she would actually meet one in the flesh. And especially one that looked as lovely as Tanya.

Pushing that thought to the back of her head, she quickly browsed through the small collection they had. Mrs. Weber loved to bake her cakes fresh in the morning before the shop opened but seeing that she wasn't here today, Bella inferred that these cakes were probably from the day before.

Finally, after much deliberation, she decided on a cupcake instead of a whole cake. Jake didn't like big complicated cakes so the cupcake she chose was perfect. It was a chocolate flavored cupcake with blue icing on top with some sprinkles.

When she turned to point to Tanya her selection, she noticed that Tanya was outright flirting with Edward. While she was browsing through the selection, Tanya must have gone to the kitchen and freshened up her makeup. Tanya's hair was no longer tied up but falling over the shoulders. Edward just ignored her but she didn't give up and tried to get his attention by seductively stroking his arm and stuff. Talk about being unprofessional…

"I'd like the chocolate cupcake with the blue icing and sprinkles please," Bella said as friendly as she could muster. Tanya simply scowled as she walked over and packed her cake for her. "Oh and add a candle in too. Thanks."

"Yeah yeah yeah… I got it…" Tanya mumbled as she took a candle from a drawer and dropped it in the bag.

After she had paid for the cake, Bella quickly took the bag and walked out of the store but not before Tanya called out to Edward and slipped something into his hand.

When they were a considerable distance from the bakery and Bella made sure that Tanya was not stalking them or something, she walked closer to Edward and asked, "What in the world did she give you?"

Edward blinked a few times before looking up and tossed the paper into a nearby trash can. "Her phone number…" he groaned.

Bella chuckled at his response. She didn't know why but seeing that Edward not liking Tanya's attention made her happy. "When did you meet her? And I thought you only… _preyed_… on hookers?"

"It was a long time ago. Alice got bored and asked if I wanted to crash a prom or something and I agreed since I was craving blood. We made our way to Alaska and I think that's where I met Tanya. We hooked up and I got her drunk and I got what I went there for. I'm surprised she remembers… I probably should have cleaned up better or gotten her more drunk…"

Bella was a little shocked. Sure Edward looked like he was in his twenties but he could well play off as a high school teenager. However what shocked her was hearing how he used to handle his _companions _and that sent a chill down her spine. Who would have known Edward to be so… so… cold?

"I don't do it anymore. I haven't been with anyone for a long time," he quickly added and Bella didn't know how to answer. So, they walked in silence back to the tree where they would make their way back to the Underground.

As they walked past the 'Welcome to Forks' sign, Bella said a silent goodbye to the place she grew up in and hoped her mother would recover soon.

They soon arrived at the tree with the huge _ILYE _carved on it. Edward pushed the shrubs aside and opened the little opening before he bent down low enough and walked in. Holding the bag with Jacob's cupcake in it, Bella followed and immediately searched for the safety of Edward's arms. She soon found it and he kicked the opening shut as he used his leg to open the tiny hole which they had climbed up from.

"I'll go first this time. But I want you to stay here until I call out to you. When you hear me tell you to jump, sit down and jump down. I'll catch you," Edward instructed and Bella tensed.

"Jump down? Why can't we just climb down the ladder or something?"

"It's too much a waste of time. Plus, I don't know how you're going to be able to climb down with that bag you're holding," Edward comforted. "Don't worry. I'll catch you. I won't let you get hurt. Promise."

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and felt Edward slowly lower himself down. A light 'plop' sound was heard before Edward called for her to jump down. Slowly sitting down on the edge of the hole and taking deep breaths, Bella slowly lowered herself till she felt herself drop and she closed her eyes. Too soon, she was being caught by the Edward's arms and she was immediately relieved. It was over.

Without giving her a chance to get down, Edward started walking down the long tunnel with Bella still in his arms.

"I can walk you know…" Bella mumbled as she rested her head on his chest.

"Yes… But you'll keep on tripping and I'll have to catch you," Edward teased and Bella scowled. He couldn't help but chuckle which made Bella scowl even more. "And besides, we can talk when I don't have to constantly worry about you tripping."

"Fine…" Bella mumbled as she hugged the little box which held the cake closer. "What do you want to talk about?"

Edward cocked his head a little as he continued walking before asking, "Well… since I told you about my little adventure with one Ms Tanya, I think it would only be fair if you told me a little about yourself?"

"What'd you like to know?"

"How bout something simple like how did you know Mrs. Weber?"

Bella couldn't help but smile. "Well… Mrs. Weber is Angela's mom. Angela and I were in the same grade and she was my best friend next to Jacob of course. We loved to bake so we would always go to their bakery and whip something up. Nothing much too interesting there…"

They continued to talk about trivial things about themselves and Edward made sure to never touch anything that could hurt her like her parents and she made sure she did the same too. They could tell what they were each doing and they were both very thankful for that. It seemed like family was a topic best to not talk about for the both of them.

Before they knew it, they were back in the castle and greeted by a cheerful Alice who ran up and gave them both a hug. It was awkward in a way as Edward was still carrying Bella.

They soon proceeded to have dinner and after that, Bella went back to her room. After a quick shower, she went to her dressing table and took out her diary. She hadn't written in it for ages. So, she wrote a short one and went to bed. She was so exhausted that it didn't take long before she wondered into dreamland.

_Dear diary,_

_Bella here. It's been such a long time since we talked huh? Well… things have been pretty crazy between Christmas than the New Year then Jacob's birthday, I'm exhausted. But I'm happy._

_I'm going to see him tomorrow. To say I'm excited is an understatement what with him giving me the best celebration last year with that pretty pink box filled with pink goodies and who could forget that disgusting yet tasty whipped cream cake he made for me. We do break the rules from time to time but we don't really care. It was fun anyway and I adored it._

_Hope he'll like it tomorrow. It's something simple but Jacob likes simple things. If I were to get him something extravagant, pretty sure he would scowl the whole way true like his thirteenth birthday. That was sure a disaster gone wild._

_Anyway, I went to Forks. Mom's sick because she's worried about me. Wish there was some way I can tell her that I'm okay and in the best care and for her to not worry about me. But with Mrs. Weber there looking after her, I know she's in the best hands._

_It's been a long day. I think I'll hit the shack now. Good night._

_Bella._

**Now that we're done with the cake shopping, the next chapter would be Jacob's birthday! I'm almost done with that chapter. Just needs a little touch up! So do anticipate an update maybe tomorrow or on Sunday! If there's no update tomorrow, do head over to my blog, I'll post a little teaser for everyone! **

**I know I'm going crazy on the updates but school's starting so it means my stories will be on halt. I've got like 7 modules next semester and I can promise I'll be head deep in work that needs to be done... *Hits head on wall…* I'll try to write when I can but it's hard with all the essays I have to do. My brain just dries up. Okay… I know that's a weird analogy but my brain is just drained of anything creative when I write my essays… Psychology is not an easy course mind you. But it sure is a hell lot of fun!**

**Anyway, I by no means hate Tanya but after seeing so many people hate her, I thought it would be fun to explore that. So, what you all think about Edward's little sex buddy? That could be a fun one-shot to write in the future. **

**Anyway, do leave me a review as reviews are as wonderful as Edward carrying me. Oh Edward…**

**LVG**


	15. The Only Exception

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews for this chapter. This chapter is solely a Jacob and Bella chapter so if you hate the idea of Bella and Jacob, I am truly sorry. **

**There's a little Bella and Jacob love scene but there's nothing explicit, just a little suggestive so there's no need to change it to an M. It's completely PG, I think. Anyway, if you don't like reading that kind of stuff, just skip the whole lyrics portion that is in **_**italics**_**. The song's **_**The Only Exception **_**by **_**Paramore**_**.**

**Okay… Onto Jacob's birthday which was so much fun to write! Enjoy~**

_January 14_

Edward was standing at the castle gates waiting for Bella. He was going to be the one to take her to the Tower today since it was his gift to her. With a bag full of gems in his pocket, he was ready to take down any Shadow attack but he was quite confident they wouldn't be meeting their little undead friends today.

But still… Each time Bella stepped out of the safety of the castle barrier, Edward worried. Who knows what in the world would happen. _He's _a cunning one, always doing things when they least expect it. Like the car crash that Bella had that made Edward give her blood and sealed her fate forever, tying her future with his.

Bella came running out wearing a long coat buttoned up to her neck and clutching onto her bag pack. "I'm ready," she beamed and Edward smiled as he helped her into the cloak.

"What's with the coat?" he asked as he pulled the hood up to her head.

"It's a surprise for Jacob," she answered.

Edward gave her a small smile as he put on his own cloak and they both made their way to the Tower.

~x~x~

The trip to the Tower was short. They didn't meet with any difficulties along the way and Bella was instantly relieved. She didn't need a Shadow attack to spoil her perfectly planned day with Jacob.

They soon arrived at the Tower and like Alice, Edward said he would wait downstairs and would call her when it was time to go back. With a hug goodbye, Bella slowly ascended the seemingly never ending flight of stairs.

Climbing up, she couldn't help but contain her excitement and that made her climb even faster. Climbing and climbing, she finally reached the room Jacob was being held in. With a quiet turn of the handle, she pushed the door open and found a sleeping Jacob.

Quietly, she tip toed over to the table and placed her bag down before tip toeing over to Jacob's sleeping form. Bella loved watching Jacob sleep. He looked so much at peace while he's sleeping like all his worries have been washed away. Gently, she bent down and started peppering kisses on his face, his shoulder and then his arm.

He stirred a little before wrapping one arm around her waist and pulled her down and onto the bed. With his eyes still closed, he took in the scent of her hair and smiled. "Mmmm… You scared me beautiful," he mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes and met Bella's. "I thought the witch twins did something to you when I didn't see you on Tuesday…" he said as he kissed her forehead.

Bella smiled and snuggled closer to him. "Sorry. I skipped Tuesday's visit to get ready for today," she said as she kissed his lips. "Happy birthday Jake."

A low vibration could be felt and Jacob was smiling as he kissed her again, only this time, he let it linger a little longer as his hand moved from her waist to her hips and gave it a little squeeze. Bella let out a tiny giggle before shoving his hand away and standing up. "None of that now… at least not until I've finished what I've planned today."

"Well I can wait…" Jacob mumbled as he got up from the bed and walked to where Bella was and wrapped his arms around her. "I can't wait to see what you have planned for me today," he whispered so soft into her ear before burying his face in her neck.

Chuckling, she opened her bag and took out two Tupperware containers. "I hope you're hungry cause we're having lunch now," she continued to chuckle as she opened. Inside, the containers held freshly made sandwiches. Bella had set about to prepare them after breakfast as she wanted them to be fresh and not 'made a day before and put in the fridge' kind of sandwiches.

"You bet I'm starving. The little girl witch twin didn't bring me breakfast this morning… Why'd you think I was sleeping when you came in? I was trying to conserve energy," Jacob said and Bella smiled wider.

"She has a name, its Alice," she said as she turned around and stared at him. "Say it. A-lice. Alice! She's been a really good friend you know, best friend I've ever had so treat her nice," Bella reprimanded but the way she was smiling totally gave away her fierce demeanor and replaced it with a teasing one.

Jacob rolled his eyes as he cupped her face with his hands. "And what if I don't? I love calling her the little girl witch twin though it sure is a mouthful…"

"Hmmm… Then no sandwiches filled with love for you," Bella teased as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Jacob chuckled as he gave Bella a light peck on her nose. "Fine… I'll be good," he said with a wide smile on his face.

"Good," Bella said as she patted his cheek and walked over to the tiny coffee table, placed the containers down.

Jacob followed her and got comfortable on the couch before grabbing her waist and pulling her down where she laid her head on his chest and their legs got tangled together. "So… what's the theme of today's party?"

Bella giggled a little before answering. "My perfect prom," she said as she stood up and started to unbutton her coat to reveal what she was wearing on the inside. She was wearing a blue sleeveless dress that went above her knees and it was covered in different colored jewels. The dress was pretty tight and it hugged all the right places of her body.

"Like it?" Bella giggled as Jacob stared at her awe struck and unable to say a word. "Alice picked it out for me."

Jacob smiled as he stood up and gave Bella a long lingering kiss. "Like it? I love it," he murmured as he placed his lips back on her. They soon parted and Jacob pushed Bella a little backward as he looked at her again. "I'm going to have to treat that lil lady a little better now," he teased as he wagged his eyebrows and Bella smiled.

"You bet'cha."

They went back and got comfortable on the couch and started munching down on Bella's sandwich. "I remember this," he laughed as he took another bite. "You thought you were fat and couldn't fit into your dress or something so you forced me to have this sandwich diet with you. Boy that was torture!" Jacob joked and Bella couldn't help but hit him on his arm.

"Says the boy who just loves my cooking!" Bella snorted and Jacob couldn't help but burst into another fit of laughter. "The important thing is that I managed to fit into my dress and not have to wear one of those Jane Austen dresses that Charlie wanted me to wear…" Bella snorted and Jacob laughed even more.

He soon managed to contain his laughter but a few hiccups still escape. As he comically tried to wipe a tear away from his eyes, he said, "You know I'll still love you no matter what you wear or how you look. And besides…" he paused awhile before saying in a teasing tone. "I'm sure Bryan Pierce would be more than happy to take my place as your date."

"Eeeewwww!" Bella screeched as she continuously hit Jacob on his arm. "Anyone but that crazy guy! I can't believe I made out with him once…" she mumbled as Jacob wrapped his arms around her shoulder and hugged her as he continued laughing. "Glad to see you enjoy my misery…"

"Sorry Bells. But it's just too funny. I still have no idea what in the world made you agree to go on a date with Bryan of all people till this day," he smiled as he brushed some hair of her forehead before placing a kiss there. "You know I'm the only one for you," he said all serious this time, with his usual Jacob grin attached on his face.

Pushing him down onto the couch, she rested her chin on his chest before speaking. "I don't know… He does look kinda cute and I think I just pitied him or something…" she whispered.

Bryan Pierce had been by far Bella's worst memory of High School. He was a weird one, the one who doesn't talk to anyone and just likes to be alone. It totally shocked Bella when he asked her out when they were both sophomores. Seeing that he was pretty sincere when he asked her, she accepted and went on the date with him. All seemed fine on the date until they went back to his house. While they were making out, Bryan tried to push Bella's sweater off and when she said no, he got aggressive and started attacking her. Good thing Charlie thought her some defensive moves and she managed to run away before anything bad happened.

She off course ran over to Jacob's house and spent the rest of the night in his room crying. She never told anyone about the incident except Jacob. She was too embarrassed by her own stupidity. Bryan did show some signs but she ignored it and it only led her to almost losing her virginity.

But of course, Bella soon got over it and now, they joke about it. It was a talent of Jacob's. He could always make a joke out of something bad that happened and leave a smile on Bella's face whenever she thought about it. Maybe that was why she loves him so much. But even so, a few tears still escaped at times when she thinks about the incident.

"You don't have to be afraid. He's harmless," Jacob comforted as he continued to stroke Bella's hair. The event had traumatized her greatly and it took her a whole six months before she even dared go out on a date with anyone. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Bella sat up a little and looked at him before smiling and wiping her face dry. "Today's your day. So enough with me. Let's finish the sandwiches so we can get to cutting your cake and re-living our perfect prom."

Nodding, Jacob took another sandwich and let Bella take a bite before eating it on his own. They continued eating in relative silence and just enjoyed being in each other's company. As soon as they were done, Bella placed the lid back on the containers and put it back in her bag pack and took out the little box which held Jacob's cupcake.

She had made extra care the previous night to pack the cake making sure it would not topple and getting all the icing messed up. After placing the cupcake on a plate, she put the candle on it and lit it. Afterwards, she sang a birthday song for Jacob before he blew the candle and they both enjoyed the cupcake together.

When they were done with the cake, Bella went back to her bag and took out an iPod and an iHome.

"Alice loaned me this," she said as she set everything up. Jacob helped her by pushing the couch and coffee table to a corner of the room to create a tiny space for them to dance. It wasn't as big as the Forks High School gym but it would do. It was just the two of them anyway.

Bella got everything set up on the little coffee table and went to join Jacob where she wrapped her arms around his neck and his around her waist. The music soon started playing in the background as they swayed from side to side and murmured sweet words to each other.

When the first song ended, the next song, _Lucky_ by _Jason Mraz_, started playing and Jacob chuckled. "This is the perfect song for us," he whispered as he placed his forehead on hers. Bella simply smiled as the continued to move in circles around the small little space.

"I remember what happens after Prom. And I can't wait to reach that part," Jacob said. Slowly, he lowered his head and whispered into her ear. "I can't wait to take your virginity away."

Bella smiled. "It was so cliché. To lose your virginity after Senior Prom…"

Jacob smiled and gave her a light peck on her lips before saying, "We're all about clichés babe. Becoming best friends with your dad's best friend's child. Falling in love with your best friend. Marrying the guy you've known your whole life. If that doesn't scream cliché, I don't know what does." Bella giggled as she felt Jacob's warm breath on her neck. "Can we fast forward to the cliché?"

"We can't… Edward's downstairs. He might hear us," Bella protested.

Jacob pouted and Bella felt her heart break. Jacob's pout was absolutely lethal for her. "We did it the other time and the lil lady didn't say anything. C'mon," he said as his hand lowered to her hips and squeezed it a little. "I promise to be quiet."

Unable to fight off his plea, she gave in as Jacob started kissing her neck.

The music soon faded and the next song started playing.

_When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry  
And curse at the wind  
He broke his own heart and I watched  
As he tried to reassemble it_

Kisses got hungrier as they started holding onto each other like they needed each other for air to breath. Before they knew it, they were both tumbling onto the tiny little bed that Jacob slept on. __

And my momma swore that  
She would never let herself forget  
And that was the day that I promised  
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist

Clothes were thrown everywhere as they touched, kissed, loved each other. There was no friction between them for a second, they just enjoyed their time together.

_But darling, you are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception_

Maybe I know, somewhere deep in my soul  
That love never lasts  
And we've got to find other ways to make it alone  
Or keep a straight face

And I've always lived like this  
Keeping a comfortable distance  
And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness  
Because none of it was ever worth the risk

Every touch, every caress screamed of much they loved each other, that they could never have enough of each other. __

But you are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception

Each sensation that passed through their bodies felt like a millions fires and winters joined together. The pleasure was so intense that no words could explain. Through their touches, they tried to convey how much they missed each other, how much they love each other. Even though it had only been a few days, it still felt like a million years have passed since they've been together like this.__

I've got a tight grip on reality  
But I can't let go of what's in front of me here  
I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up  
Leave me with some kind of proof, it's not a dream, oh

As they were joined, they moaned in unison at the feeling of being connected once again.__

You are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception  


As they both reached their climaxes, they clung onto each other even more, not allowing even a single breath pass through them. Sweet I love yous were murmured as they stayed connected in the most intimate of ways.

_You are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception  
You are the only exception_

As the music slowly faded into the distance, they held onto each other, breathing heavy, they kissed and finally broke apart.__

And I'm on my way to believing  
Oh, and I'm on my way to believing

~x~x~

"Bella?" Edward's voice rang from the outside of the door as he knocked on it. "I'm sorry for bothering you but it's time to go."

Upon hearing that Edward was outside, Bella quickly jumped up from the bed as she scrambled to find her underwear and put it on. After that, she retrieved her dress which was thrown over to the other side of the room and shoved it into her bag before pulling out a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. She and Alice had planned everything to the final detail. She took the risk of wearing a dress you could hardly run in but she wasn't going to take that risk going back. That and T-shirt and shorts were much more comfortable.

"Bella?" Jacob said, his voice still heavy from the nap they had.

"It's time for me to go Jake. We've already exceeded the time…"

As she turned to grab her bag pack to sling over her shoulders, Jacob wrapped his arms around her shoulders as he pulled her to his chest. "I don't want you to go…" he whispered as he buried his face in her hair.

"I don't want to go too. But I have to. I'll visit soon."

Sadly, he unwrapped his arms around her shoulders. They kissed goodbye before Bella opened the door. Taking one last look at Jacob, she smiled and walked out.

"Sorry I exceeded the time," Bella apologized to Edward as she closed the door.

"It's okay," Edward smiled softly as he took Bella's hand and they both descended the stairs. "Did you have fun?"

She nodded enthusiastically and she continued to chatter on about what happened. She didn't continue for long as they soon reached the exit and Edward helped her put on her cloak.

"I'm going to be running us back. It's late and it'll be faster if I run us back."

Bella nodded and Edward put on his own cloak before scooping Bella up in his arms and running back to the castle. The journey back was a blur. Edward's speed was just amazing. It was like riding on a motorcycle but only faster. The wind cut through her skin so she leaned her head into his chest to shield herself. Before she knew it, they were back to the comforts of the castle walls.

However, Edward didn't put her down until they were inside and he froze.

Bella noticed this and immediately got worried. "Edward, what's wrong?" she asked.

Before Edward could answer, two figures appeared before them. One was a man with long blond hair tied in a loose ponytail and the other was a cat-like woman with long curly red hair. They were both bone pale and impossibly beautiful.

The male smirked as he watched Edward move in front of Bella to shield her. Bending down a little and gripping onto Edward's arm, Bella watched as the man opened his mouth to speak. "It's been awhile since we last met," the man spoke and Edward stiffened.

**Before you start taking your pitch forks out and hunt me down, these two pretty people we've just met are James and Victoria. They're not the bad guys and by no means linked to Mr. B but I think you already know who Mr. B is? I just couldn't keep that secret. Kidnapped is ending soon anyways. Maybe 8 more chapters and it's done.**

**Okay… It was weird writing a love scene between Jacob and Bella. But it was fun writing them interacting with each other. Now I understand what SM said about how different Bella's interaction is between Edward and Jacob and it being so much fun to write. But don't get me wrong, I'm a vampire girl. Go vampires!**

**Anywhoooo, this is the last update before school starts so I bid you wonderful people goodbye for now. I'll try to write when I can but the next update will most likely be for my other story, a rewrite of Two Faces. **

**Bella's dress will be posted on my blog so do go check it out. I'm horrible in descriptions and I didn't do that dress justice one bit! It's a really pretty dress. Well, to me it is.**

**Do leave me a review as it's as sweet as having a best friend like Jacob! Jacob's a great guy too kay and I absolutely love him but not as much as Edward~ Woot!**

**LVG**


	16. Visitors

"Hello Edward," the pale white man with pale blonde hair said as he smirked.

Still unwilling to let go of his defensive position, Edward stood before Bella – his arm stretched to block her as one of her hands held onto his arm tightly. Unable to explain why she was so afraid at that moment made her panic even more. It was like something within her was telling her that the two creatures before her were dangerous. It was like some innate instinct within her was telling her to run for her life was in danger. Edward's outstretched arm before her wasn't helping the situation either as she continued looking at the two beautiful creatures before her.

Even with Edward's defensive stance, the two didn't even flinch; they just stood there – completely still, and completely relaxed as if this was their home. They didn't seem to pose any danger. Yet, Bella couldn't shake of this uneasy feeling inside her that they were in trouble.

The woman with the bright red hair moved a little and before Bella could take in another breath, the woman was standing right in front of Bella. With only Edward's arm separating them, the woman gently tipped Bella's chin up with her hand and took in Bella's features as she stared at her. After what seemed like forever, the woman took in a long and deliberate deep breath and stiffened. Edward growled as the woman turned her head – never once letting go of Bella's chin.

All this time, Bella couldn't do anything as stood frozen, her fingers digging into Edward's flesh that marks would have probably appeared.

"She's human…" the woman whispered as she stared at the man with pale blond hair.

"Get your hands off her," Edward spat out through clenched teeth. The woman still remained unmoving as she continued assessing Bella with the most intense expression. "Victoria, I swear if you don't remove your fucking hand off her, I will rip it off…" Edward all but shouted through his still clenched teeth.

His tone, his facial expression seemed to have given the woman – whom Bella presumed to be called Victoria – the message that he wanted to convey and she quickly let go of Bella and in a flash, was next to the man's side.

Bella was scared but stunned at the same time. Throughout her time in the Underground, she had never seen Edward look so… so… frightening. Nor did she ever hear him swear or curse in front of her. His eyes were no longer the warm green but were dilated as adrenaline pumped through him as if there was impending danger.

"Now, now, Edward. No need to get all animalistic on us, we mean the girl no harm. Though I am awfully curious, as to why she's here…" the man spoke as he lifted his hands up to show that he meant no danger.

Edward's defensive stance never relaxed as he spoke, "Why are you here James?"

"We just came to visit. It used to be our home too you know. Well, at least until you know what," James spoke. However, as he spoke, his eyes weren't on Edward, they were on Bella.

They were too far away to really read what they were thinking but from Bella's observation, they looked curious, shocked even when they first noticed her presence.

"We come in peace Edward…" Victoria spoke in her little high pitched voice. "We mean you or Alice or your little _pet _no harm."

Edward's stance soon relaxed as he knew that they really meant no harm and that this was just a little visit. However, he never really let go of Bella as his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to him.

Wrapping her arms around Edward's waist, Bella turned her head to look at the insanely gorgeous couple before her. Their names were easy enough to remember, James and Victoria, and judging from the good looks and pale skin, Bella inferred that they were definitely not human and definitely not like Edward or Alice. The woman's touch had been ice cold instead of the scalding hot from Edward's touch. The only assessment that Bella could make was that they're vampires.

Seeing that Edward had relaxed, James smiled at him. It wasn't the friendliest of smiles but it did help in removing some of the tension in the room. "Perhaps a more suitable place for a little catching up?"

Edward nodded before calling out for Alice. Alice appeared within seconds and took Bella from Edward. After instructing Alice to bring Bella back to her room and get her ready for bed, Edward walked through the huge double doors towards the hallway to his room.

~x~x~

As they walked at a quick pace back to Bella's room, Alice refused to answer any questions that Bella had. She didn't even bother looking at her before pushing her into the bathroom for Bella to shower.

As the warm water cascaded down her body, Bella couldn't help but think about the two strangers she met just now. They had the looks and body any human would kill for. But the thing that bothered her most was Edward's reaction.

It was pure animalistic and frankly speaking, it scared the living crap out of her. Of all the time she's spent in the Underground, she had never heard Edward curse, let alone look so angry, so torn. She could see the hurt in his eyes but it was masked with fury as his features so clearly depicted.

And what the two strangers said puzzled her. What did it mean when they said that this used to be their home? Why did James say that he was confused as to why she – a human – was here? Have the Underground and above never communicated before that one from the above to becoming a habitant in the Underground is so puzzling? Nothing made sense.

"Alice? Who were those people?" Bella asked as she stepped out of the shower stall and patted herself dry with a towel.

"Nobody, they're nobody Bella," Alice answered. Yet, her answer didn't seem convincing as she handed Bella her undergarments and night wear.

"You're lying to me Alice…" Bella called off her bluff.

There was a long pause before Alice answered and Bella could sense that Alice was using that extra few seconds to think of an excuse to not tell her anything. This seemed to happen a lot at the Underground. She was kept in the dark about literally everything. She doesn't know the real reason why she's here. She doesn't know why she and Jacob needed to be separated. And so many other things. But this was the one time she didn't want to be kept in the dark. She deserved to know the truth!

"What do you want me to say Bella? Edward gave me specific orders to not tell you anything," Alice whined.

"Well, you could tell me the truth…" Bella replied as she pulled her nightgown over her body. The gown Alice had given her for the night was much shorter than usual. After a lot of pulling and a little swearing, Bella exited the bathroom to a very torn Alice. "I mean, I deserve that at the very least right?"

Biting her lower lip, Alice sat Bella on the chair before helping her blow dry her hair. She was contemplating. It wasn't like Alice had never broken any rules before. Hell, she broke a ton of rules her brother had given her.

After a few moments of silence, Alice finally caved. "Oh all right!" she shouted and Bella's face lit up immediately. "But I won't tell you, I'll show you."

A look of confusion soon became realization. Alice was in no position to share this with Bella but she was in the position to show her. Hastily, Bella quickly pulled on her robe and went to grab her slippers from her closet.

"No slippers. They make too much noise. If Edward finds out I disobeyed him, he'll kill me. Literally," Alice said.

Forgoing the slippers, Bella and Alice quietly walked down the long hallway towards Edward's bedroom.

"Who are those people Alice?" Bella whispered as Alice guided Bella through the darkened hallways. Edward apparently went the next step and switched off the lights just in case Bella got a little too curious and snuck out. She wouldn't be able to find her way if she couldn't see. The Underground hallway was a never ending maze and being without one's sense of sight made it impossible to navigate around this maze.

"James and Victoria," Alice replied before adding, "They used to work here before… before the invasion…" Alice choked at the middle like she was forcing it out or something, like it caused her a great deal of pain to remember that.

Hearing the pain in her voice, Bella couldn't find her own voice to speak and they hence continued their walk towards Edward's room in total silence.

As they came to a stop, still holding Bella's hand, Alice pulled it towards the door knob and with a silent turn, the door opened to a brightly lit room. It was odd considering Edward didn't need much light to be able to see.

As the two girls quietly made their way into the room, the door towards Edward's study was closed which was a sight Bella had never seen before. It was opened to the point that Bella didn't even think that there was a door there. But there it stood, the door closed with only a little creak from the inside.

Voices could be heard and they weren't afraid of being heard – probably because no one was supposed to be there.

Bella stood at that spot frozen. She knew what she was doing was wrong but she wanted to know the truth, well, at least this truth. Giving her a small smile, Alice took Bella's hand and guided her towards the small opening of the door.

Bending down a little as she looked with one eye, Bella was absolutely shocked. The bookcase which held her precious books was flat down on the floor with books scattered everywhere. But what shocked her most was the two beautiful creatures. They seemed to have done or said something to Edward. Edward, the king of the Underground, Edward, looked like he was in pain, like he was being tortured by their words or actions.

Forgetting her promise to be quiet. Forgetting that she was not supposed to be here. Without thinking of the consequences, Bella pushed the door open and flung her arms in front of Edward like a mother protecting her child from the monsters before her.

"Stop!" she shouted.

~x~x~

_Why are they here?_

That was the thought that kept on running through Edward's mind as he, James and his mate Victoria walked towards his room.

James and Victoria. Vampires who once served under his father. They were some of the few lucky ones who managed to escape the Underground during the invasion and in turn, saved their lives. Since then, they've been living like the other nomadic vampires that roam the above – moving from one place to another, seeking out fresh blood and abandoning all the values they had when they lived in the Underground under Edward's father's rule.

They soon reached his room and as they scanned his bedroom, Edward led them to his study and closed the door that was rarely even moved.

"The king's quarters haven't changed. Kudos for preserving it Edward. Kudos to you…" James said as he browsed through the bookcase, his fingers gently dancing through the many books on the shelf. Victoria just stood at her mate's side, not saying anything.

"Why are you here? We haven't seen you two in over twenty years and you suddenly show up without any warning?" Edward growled.

Without even flinching, James's finger stopped at the midway as he turned and gave Edward a sly smirk. "Now Edward. Is that the way to speak to your father's most _trusted _advisor?"

Edward couldn't control himself as a snarl escaped his lips. "You betrayed my father! He trusted you and you just walked all over it!" Edward bellowed, the anger evident in his eyes.

"What did you want me to do Edward? It was either his life or…" James closed the book that he had taken out and put it back before he slung his arm around Victoria's neck, "Victoria's and mines."

"He had a plan. We could all have been saved. But you betrayed him! You left him when he needed you the most!"

Angered by his accusation, James pushed the entire bookcase down before glaring at Edward. "Now who do you think caused us to end up like this? This was our home where we lived away from those inferior humans. They only served to sustain us but your father had to bring one and made her his companion?"

The two continued to glare at each other before James spoke again. "It was that filthy human mother of yours. She seduced the king and he was weak. It's all her fault and you expect me to defend her… Never…" a soft whisper escaped his lips as he mouthed the last words.

"Enough! Don't you dare speak of my mother in that manner!" Pain started to flow through his veins as he remembered the time of the attack, the time where he lost his beloved mother and father.

"What are you doing here Edward? Why do you remain? You were never the rightful heir to the throne. Emmett is… But oh… I forgot. You got him and Rosalie killed!"

"Enough!" Edward bellowed as his fist met the wall with a loud 'bang'. "I stayed because that was what my father would have wanted. To continue his legacy. To protect what still remains…"

"And what might I ask is this legacy? From what I know, you and Alice no longer sustain yourselves through animal blood… You've left this place to rot. What once was a place of beauty is now nothing but a waste land with Shadows lurking at every corner. You call this continuing your father's legacy?" James shouted.

The pain was too much. The pain of having to remember was too much to handle. Edward wanted to kill. He wanted to kill to forget all the pain…

"Now, now James. We don't need to torture the poor boy with this kind of pain…" a shrilly feminine voice sounded. She had been so quiet the entire time it was as though she never existed.

Victoria was the key to James's escape during the invasion. They were the perfect match for hide-and-seek. James was good at seeking while Victoria was good at hiding. That was her ability, to evade.

"I'm amazed he's able to still keep this castle standing after so long. And after all… Even if he did not follow his father's legacy, he seems to be making the same mistake as his father… The very same mistake that almost killed… us… all…" She said it in such a seductive and menacing way. It made her seem scarier that James.

Edward's eyes which were closed were now wide open as he turned to look at Victoria – smirking at him, the very smirk that frightened him since he was a little boy. "Bella has nothing to do with this."

"Ah, she's called Bella… Pretty little human she is," James said. "But one would wonder… Why did you bring her here?"

"And why a girl who smells like she's been touched by another not too long ago. A woman who's completely out of your grasps… Do you like the unattainable Edward?" Victoria added as she stopped her pacing and looked up at Edward. "Just like your father," she whispered.

Just a whisper was enough to send a new jolt of anger to rush through Edward's veins. "The situation's different! I'm only doing this to protect her," Edward defended.

"That was what your father claimed too. That he was only protecting your mother from that horrid fiancée of hers. But the real reason he did this was because…" James looked up, a mask of disgust on his face. "You're in love with her," James stated, not asked. Victoria too looked at Edward in disgust.

"I'm… not. This girl… This woman… She doesn't belong to me. She belongs to someone else. She can never be _mine_…"

"Edward. Do you hear yourself? You're falling in love with a human… Like father like son I would say…" James laughed.

"I'm not! I'm only doing this to protect her! She's in danger."

"Humans are in danger every day. But why her… But this pretty little brunette…" Victoria pondered before coming to a realization. "She reminds you of your mother. That's why you keep her here. Oh this is too good!" Victoria too started laughing.

"_Mommy! Mommy come back! Please don't leave me…" a little Edward cried out. _

"Mo-mo-mom…" Edward cried out in a daze as he remembered. All the laughing was like some background noise as he remembered that memory. He couldn't think. He could do anything as he cowered on the floor for having remembered how he caused his mother's death.

"Stop!" a voice that always made him feel warm inside came to view. Her figure standing in front of him, shielding him from the pain. "Stop hurting him."

Bella didn't know what was going on. But there was one thing she knew absolutely in her mind, this time, Edward can't be the one to protect her. It's her turn to protect him.

"I-I don't know what's going on. But whatever you're doing, you're hurting him. And… and I want you to stop," Bella commanded in her bravest voice. The rational part inside of her was telling her that she was in real danger, that these were real vampires that could kill her with a single snap. But yet… the irrational part of her told her to stand her ground. Because right now, Edward _needed_ her.

The two gave out an evil cackle and it confused Bella but she didn't care. Knowing that the immediate danger was gone, Bella went to Edward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, encircling him in a protective embrace.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here," Edward panted as he looked at her.

Bella couldn't find the words she wanted to say at that moment. She was lost in the never ending green that was once filled with grief but was now filled with relief.

"It looks like we've over extended out welcome. We'll leave now," James said as he guided Victoria out the door. "Oh and Edward. I'd be careful if I were you. I wouldn't want history to repeat itself."

And with those final words, Victoria and James were gone.

~x~x~

"Edward, Edward! Are you okay? Look at me. Look at me," Bella said as she tried to stop him from shaking. As she looked into his eyes, she could see the fear in them, the extreme pain. "Shhh… Shhh… Shhh… It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay," she soothed as she stroked his hair.

_You're in love with her._ Those words. Uttered by James earlier on couldn't escape his mind. Edward knew better than to be in love with her. She could never be his. He could not possess her. Yet now… All he wanted to do was devour her whole. To make her a part of him. To call her _his… _and his alone.

The urge to take her was so strong that he didn't know what got over him. One minute he was staring at her perfect pink lips, the next his were on hers and he kissed her with all he had. All his emotions bottled up in one poured out with that kiss. He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want anyone else touching her. He couldn't control his body. It acted on its own.

Bella couldn't understand what was going on. Edward's perfect lips were on hers. It didn't feel wrong. It _should _have felt wrong but it felt so right. She didn't want that feeling to go away. And so, she deepened the kiss as she opened her mouth to Edward's. Their tongues fought a no-win battle as their lips moved. When she needed air to breathe, Edward's lips moved down to her neck as his strong hands travelled down her body.

She was being carried up as she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bedroom and onto his bed. She wanted him. She wanted him so badly and for so long. She didn't know how her body managed to take it from so long, to be able to live without the pleasure Edward was causing her now with just a simple touch.

Her body was soon lying on a bed with Edward right on top of her. His lips were back on hers. As her hands roamed his shirt covered chest, she started playing with the buttons as she tore each one open, one by one until they were all gone and all that was left was his unbuttoned shirt.

The feeling of Bella's lips on his was nothing he could describe. They tasted better than anything he ever tasted. The silly excuse of a nightgown she was wearing allowed him to feel how smooth her skin felt and he longed to be able to be able to feel it on his fingers for an eternity.

He and his companion were stuck in their little cloud of lust, neither one of them showing any signs that they wanted to get out of it. Not until he felt her fingers on his chest. It was then the rational part of his brain spoke. _She doesn't belong to you. She belongs to another. She can never be yours. _

And that was what took him out of his cloud of lust. With strong determined hands, he took hold of her wrists and prevented her from pushing his shirt away, for he knew the minute more of his skin was able to touch her, it would be the end of him. He wouldn't stop. He would take something that will never be his. He will be doing something he – they – would regret forever.

"Bella… We can't do this," he whispered into her ear as she fought to get her hands free. "Jacob…"

With the mention of one name, Bella realized that it was over and that thought brought tears to her eyes.

Seeing her cry sent a wave of panic through him as he got up from her. "Bella, I am so sorry. I don't know what had gotten into me. I am so sorry."

As she sat up, she could see that he had gotten the wrong message. As she wiped the tears away, she moved closer to him to only have him moving away from her. "Why are you moving away from me?" she asked, "These tears aren't tears for what just happened. These tears are for what could have been. These tears are because we have stopped."

"I-I don't understand. Jacob…" Edward whispered as Bella moved closer to him.

"I don't understand either… But right now, all I want is to be with you." More tears started flowing down as she held onto his hand. She should have felt dirty for feeling this way, dirty for betraying her fiancée. But she didn't feel dirty. Not one bit.

"I can't have you Bella. I can't do this to Jacob or you. You'll regret this."

"Then don't make me regret. Make me feel like a woman. Make me one. Make me forget my name, make me forget him, make me forget everything!" Bella begged as she cried.

Seeing the desperation in her eyes nearly made him give in. "I… can't…"

She knew she was going to lose. So, she asked for the next best thing. "Kiss me," she whispered as he looked into her eyes. "I am your companion. Use me. Make my body feel like it has been set on fire. Punish me for betraying him Edward. Please… It hurts so much…"

Knowing that he can no longer refuse her, Edward kissed her once again and Bella felt alive once more.

They kissed till they could no more. Holding onto each other like they were clinging onto dear life, they fell asleep, comforted in each other's presence.

**James and Victoria were supposed to be nice… The story's writing itself!**

**Anyways, I'm back but regular updates can't be promised. I'm on the edge of leaving my writing… I really am. But I'll do my very best to finish Kidnapped before I do!**

**I know this chapter might be a little confusing but no hate please. I suck at writing. Sigh… You can ask me questions though! I promise to answer them. And I'm still stuck at a dilemma on how to end this story…**

**Anywhoooo, I've been getting favorites even though I haven't updated in like forever and that has never happened for my other stories. I would like to thank anyone who has recommended my story (if there are any!) to others. You guys are awesome!**

**Lastly, do leave a review before you leave! Reviews really push me forward even if it's just one. **

**LVG**


	17. Author's Note: Goodbye

Hi guys,

I am sorry to disappoint you but this is not an update for Kidnapped. In fact, there will be no more updates for Kidnapped.

I have officially decided to leave my stories and that would include Kidnapped. I am really sorry to disappoint you especially those who stayed with me this whole time and have asked me to finish Kidnapped.

I have actually considered leaving Fanfiction for quite awhile now. Writing no longer brings me joy but great stress from having to please today's demanding population. However, it was these two days that made me realize that I am in fact not a very good writer.

My life's pretty messed up too with friendships on the line and tons of work for me to do. I just can't sit down and write anything which I consider remotely good any longer.

It truly hurts me to have to make this decision but I will stick to it. In addition, I will not be requesting for another author to continue my story. Some writers would do so but not me. I just hate the feeling of someone else taking my idea and doing their own take on it. I know it's really selfish of me to do this to those who read Kidnapped and I apologize.

Guess this will be my last note to you guys. Who knows, the spark might just rekindle out of the blue but I highly doubt that. There are still so many stories in my head that I want to share but I just can't get it down on paper any longer.

So here are my apologies and final goodbyes. It was a fun ride while it lasted and thank you to those who have been reading my stories. I truly appreciate it.

LVG


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